Anthem or Allure/Oasis

[PrincessBelle39]

We are looking at cruising in late June/early July 2016.

 

Our plan was to travel on the Oasis or Allure but in the week I've spent trying to pin down our itinerary, the cost has gone up more than $1800 Australian Dollars for the ocean view cabin. This has had me looking at the Anthem which is two nights longer and still at the price we were originally looking at.

 

I don't know anything about Anthem of the Seas and after looking at the other two ships, what little I do know makes me wonder if there will be enough for us to do, as there are 4 sea days. I'm not very good at doing nothing.

 

We are travelling with 14 and 11 year girls who also like to stay busy. We have cruised before but not with RCI. Our last two cruises were on the Disney Magic and Disney Fantasy. The Fantasy would be our first choice if it wasn't $5000 AUD more expensive.

 

Our original plan was to have 9nights at WDW before cruising. If we did Anthem it would probably change to a few nights at Disneyland before a couple in New York. Myself and my 11 year old prefer the trip that includes WDW. New York is a draw for the 14 year old although we were there 3 years ago. Hubby wants the best cruise.

 

Any thoughts on which way to go?

[Yorkvillain]

We are looking at cruising in late June/early July 2016.

 

Our plan was to travel on the Oasis or Allure but in the week I've spent trying to pin down our itinerary, the cost has gone up more than $1800 Australian Dollars for the ocean view cabin. This has had me looking at the Anthem which is two nights longer and still at the price we were originally looking at.

 

I don't know anything about Anthem of the Seas and after looking at the other two ships, what little I do know makes me wonder if there will be enough for us to do, as there are 4 sea days. I'm not very good at doing nothing.

 

We are travelling with 14 and 11 year girls who also like to stay busy. We have cruised before but not with RCI. Our last two cruises were on the Disney Magic and Disney Fantasy. The Fantasy would be our first choice if it wasn't $5000 AUD more expensive.

 

Our original plan was to have 9nights at WDW before cruising. If we did Anthem it would probably change to a few nights at Disneyland before a couple in New York. Myself and my 11 year old prefer the trip that includes WDW. New York is a draw for the 14 year old although we were there 3 years ago. Hubby wants the best cruise.

 

Any thoughts on which way to go?

 

There will be plenty to do on both classes of ships. I would take the longer cruise every time if the prices are comparable.

[Cruise a holic]

We are looking at cruising in late June/early July 2016.

 

Our plan was to travel on the Oasis or Allure but in the week I've spent trying to pin down our itinerary, the cost has gone up more than $1800 Australian Dollars for the ocean view cabin. This has had me looking at the Anthem which is two nights longer and still at the price we were originally looking at.

 

I don't know anything about Anthem of the Seas and after looking at the other two ships, what little I do know makes me wonder if there will be enough for us to do, as there are 4 sea days. I'm not very good at doing nothing.

 

We are travelling with 14 and 11 year girls who also like to stay busy. We have cruised before but not with RCI. Our last two cruises were on the Disney Magic and Disney Fantasy. The Fantasy would be our first choice if it wasn't $5000 AUD more expensive.

 

Our original plan was to have 9nights at WDW before cruising. If we did Anthem it would probably change to a few nights at Disneyland before a couple in New York. Myself and my 11 year old prefer the trip that includes WDW. New York is a draw for the 14 year old although we were there 3 years ago. Hubby wants the best cruise.

 

Any thoughts on which way to go?

 

Definitely the Allure or Oasis. We recently sailed on the Quantum, sister of the Anthem. It was a very negative experience, I would suggest you look at the cruise critic member reviews. I could understand that this negative press would certainly reduce the cost of the cruise fare. The experience was such a disappointment that we cancelled our Anthem cruise. We have been on both the Allure and Oasis, multiple times. I highly recommend either. Even the Freedom class on RC beats the Quantum ships.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

Edited September 16, 2015 by Cruise a holic

[ratfam]

You are going to find opinions differ greatly--my family did an Oasis cruise 2 years ago and an Anthem cruise a few weeks ago and all four of us far preferred the Anthem. While Oasis has a lot of interesting things about it, we felt that there was a lot more to do on the Anthem--the spaces like 270 were not only attractive and well designed (like Central Park on Oasis) but they were also very functional, allowing for a lot of additional entertainment options. We really enjoyed Music Hall and the frequent live entertainment and we liked the different restaurants--we were former Disney cruisers too, and it is like what you are used to from Disney especially if you do Classic where you rotate between the restaurants but keep the same staff. SeaPlex has a lot of activities that aren't offered on Oasis, and even though we only did iFly once it was a lot of fun. We also felt Anthem had a lot more fun in the design--it was funky and quirky but we liked that. One thing that RCI will never match up to Disney for my kids is the kids' programming, but others strongly disagree with me on that so again opinions vary. Since we usually cruise in the winter and wouldn't want to leave from New Jersey I don't know that we will be able to cruise a Quantum class ship again soon until one is based in Florida, but based purely on ship we would choose Anthem over Oasis or Allure any day.

 

Don't know if you have been to both Disney World and Disneyland but Disneyland has a lot of nice things about it and is much more manageable in less time than Disney World. We haven't been to California Adventure but find Disneyland's smaller size and easy accessibility to be big plusses.

 

Good luck with your choice, I'm sure you will have a great time whatever you decide.

Edited September 17, 2015 by ratfam

[ladylemondrop]

I havent sailed on Allure or Oasis, but I did two nights on Anthem as a preview for my blog (link below with photos etc) and thought she was amazing! Don't understand the negative reviews at all, the ship was beautifully classy, with lots of fantastic things to do - flow rider, i-fly, north star, bumper cars, shows that blew my mind! And the food - I didn't even get started, I need to go back to try Chops, Wonderland etc...!! I would say take the longer cruise, pay the better price, and go with an open mind for a new experience!

[Blondynka]

My husband and I have been on both the Oasis and Allure, and have also been on Quantum and are sailing on Anthem this winter. You will not go wrong either way. The two classes (oasis vs quantum) are actually quite different from each other, so ideally if you enjoy cruising you may want to plan for eventually trying both of them.

 

Oasis class ships are HUGE - definitely a very impressive feeling when you first see them at the terminal, and even more so once you board. In my opinion a must-see at some point in your life if you are a cruiser.

 

Quantum class ships are smaller than Oasis, but use amazing new technology and are extremely modern and cool. This will not be your old-fashioned style cruise.

 

To answer your question, in my opinion, you will have a great time on both, so go with the biggest bang for your buck!

[Overtyme]

I haven't done Anthem (or Quantum) yet, so my information isn't all first hand.

That said, I can tell you first hand that Allure is a must see/do cruise. It is one of the most family friendly cruises that you'll find with an amazing balance of alone adult time and together family time.

The ship in and of itself is amazing. There's nothing like it out there.

We're going on Anthem at the end of June next year.

I'm sure it'll be an amazing ship in its own right, but I'm also sure that it won't be as family friendly.

If you do choose Anthem, we'll see you aboard the June 30th 9 nighter [emoji1]

Edited September 18, 2015 by Overtyme

[JulieRose]

I couldn't decide either.

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VVV

[dorisis]

I havent sailed on Allure or Oasis, but I did two nights on Anthem as a preview for my blog (link below with photos etc) and thought she was amazing! Don't understand the negative reviews at all, the ship was beautifully classy, with lots of fantastic things to do - flow rider, i-fly, north star, bumper cars, shows that blew my mind! And the food - I didn't even get started, I need to go back to try Chops, Wonderland etc...!! I would say take the longer cruise, pay the better price, and go with an open mind for a new experience!

 

I have sailed on Allure and Oasis and I think the Anthem would be an even better choice. especially if the price is lower.

[Seaworthy01]

I think you should follow Julies lead and book both. I booked the Anthem and looking forward to the experience (read so many good things), I do plan on booking the Oasis class in the near future, may even book it while on the Anthem. I do prefer the larger ships. No matter which one you choose first, I am sure you will have the time of your life.

[Overtyme]

I think you should follow Julies lead and book both. I booked the Anthem and looking forward to the experience (read so many good things), I do plan on booking the Oasis class in the near future, may even book it while on the Anthem. I do prefer the larger ships. No matter which one you choose first, I am sure you will have the time of your life.

 

 

They're from Australia.

[Overtyme]

On the other hand. Ovation (Quantum class) will be heading to Australia. Since you can experience a Q class ship closer to home, it may make more sense to book Allure or Oasis out of the states.

[sasha96]

I havent sailed on Allure or Oasis, but I did two nights on Anthem as a preview for my blog (link below with photos etc) and thought she was amazing! Don't understand the negative reviews at all, the ship was beautifully classy, with lots of fantastic things to do - flow rider, i-fly, north star, bumper cars, shows that blew my mind! And the food - I didn't even get started, I need to go back to try Chops, Wonderland etc...!! I would say take the longer cruise, pay the better price, and go with an open mind for a new experience!

 

I agree! Sailed Quantum and I don't understand the negative reviews! I think you will have a blast on either of the classes of ships. We've sailed DCL too, when the children were very young. RCI's newer ships offer so much more to do! You can stay as busy as you'd like!

[sasha96]

On the other hand. Ovation (Quantum class) will be heading to Australia. Since you can experience a Q class ship closer to home, it may make more sense to book Allure or Oasis out of the states.

 

That's a very good point!

 

I must say, as a parent with young children, Quantum class offered them plenty to do (even when I had a daughter under 5 years old). That class of ship is very family friendly, IMO!