HELP! Allure of the Seas vs Anthem of the Seas vs Disney Magic!

[Rubeng724]

Our family is having trouble deciding between these three cruise options:

 

Option 1: Allure of the Seas

Date: December 2016

Departure Port: Fort Lauderdale, FL

Ports:

- Cozumel, Mexico

- Falmouth, Jamaica

- Labadee, Haiti

Pros:

- World's largest cruise ship!

- Labadee, Haiti

- 21 hour drive (don't worry, we're used to it!)

 

Option 2: Anthem of the Seas

Date: December 2016

Departure Port: Cape Liberty, NJ

Ports:

- Orlando, Florida

- CocoCay (Little Stirrup Cay, Bahamas)

- Nassau, Bahamas

Pros:

- World's most advanced and innovative ship! (Or at least I've heard)

- Onboard activities are a bit better than Allure's (Rip Cord, Northstar, and Seaplex beat Zipline, Ice Skating, and Boardwalk IMO)

Cons:

- 28 hour drive (7 more hours than the other options, but I think we can handle it!)

- Cold weather.. BUT I've heard this won't be a problem on the Anthem since it was specifically made for cold weather (hence, more indoor spaces, such as Two70 and Seaplex). Is this true?

 

Option 3: Disney Magic

Date: December 2016

Departure Port: Miami, Florida

Ship: Disney Magic

Ports:

- Tortola, BVI

- St Thomas, USVI

- Castaway Cay

Pros:

- 21 hour drive (Again, I don't mind!)

- Disney ship!

- Castaway Cay

- More "inclusive" (i.e. free soda and free 24 hour room service)

Cons:

- Less activities on board (Or at least for our age; 2 teens, 4 adults in their early 20's, and 2 adults) BUT we're ALL BIG Disney fans! (Been to Disney World approx. 10 times)

 

A little more details:

- If we cruise on the ALLURE or the MAGIC, we would stay in an OCEANVIEW cabin. If we cruise on the ANTHEM, we would stay in a BALCONY. All prices are more or less the same. We would obviously prefer a balcony, but would be satisfied with an oceanview.

- Our first family cruise was 2 years ago aboard the Navigator of the Seas; we had a BLAST!

- The MOST important factor for a cruise vacation is the SHIP. The itinerary is also important, but if a port is boring, we definitely wouldn't mind spending another "day at sea".

 

Also, which cruise line (Royal Caribbean or Disney Cruise Line) has better food? Service? I'm guessing Disney Cruise Line, but please correct me if I'm wrong!

 

So, which option would you recommend? Thanks in advance!

[sasha96]

We've been on the Magic (and Fantasy), and Quantum (sister to Anthem and basically the same), and we're about to go on Oasis (so I know tons about it, and it is the sister to Allure). DCL has amazing service and the food is excellent. Royal does a great job too though! Now, NCL, that is another story IMO. Disney would just go miles out of their way to make you happy even with the smallest of things.

 

I wouldn't consider DCL so much more inclusive as RCI. Yes, they include soda, but the cost of adding the soda package on Royal is usually far less than the price difference for DCL. I find RCI is less expensive when compared to the Fantasy. You will just see more opportunities for meals (and a couple of activities) with an uncharge than the one or two offerings on DCL. But, Royal doesn't charge for things like bumper cars, zip lines, flow rider, etc. We get room service in the mornings on all ships. While we don't order hot food (so I can't comment on that), I haven't been charged for it yet (we get coffee, cereal, pastries, fruit, milk)!

 

I found the Magic to be an older ship, but I like newer and bigger ships. If you aren't looking for much beyond the usual day to day activities (pool, hot tub, trivia, etc.) and want to see the characters (at any age), go for DCL. The Royal ships you mentioned have far more to do on them than the Magic. At the ages of your family, if you want to have an active ship/vacation, you can't go wrong with either RCI ship you mentioned.

 

I'm surprised that you'd have a balcony on Anthem and not on Allure. I've found Anthem's prices to be higher overall than Oasis/Allure/Harmony.

Edited January 1, 2016 by sasha96

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

The Allure is amazing. If you want to experience a completely draw-dropping ship (IMO), go with Allure. I was on the Oasis (sister) in May, service and food were both very good to great. I'll be on Allure in February and I'm expecting the same.

 

Anthem would be awesome in terms of the ship and tech, but some reviews say that the food and service is lacking. For me, Allure would probably win out over Anthem, especially because you haven't experienced an Oasis Class ship.

 

Disney seems to be an all around awesome cruise line, but I have no experience so I don't want to give any bad advice. However, from what I've read they might have the edge on food, maybe service. However, I've had consistently great service and very good food on Royal.

 

Hope this helps a little.

[martikus]

With the ages of your kids - Allure hands down. Amazing ship with lots to do.

 

Anthem is too far a drive in my opinion and now that they may start charging for things like ifly and reviews are so mixed and leaving from cold waleather....no thanks.

 

We loved Disney Magic with our 8 year old. I can't imagine going without young kids. The shows and activities are quite young based. Now I know there are lots of Disney adults who love the ship, but to us it is very kid based.

[cruisecraze96]

Also suggest the Allure with your kids ages. I don't think having a stop at Port Canaveral excites me at all so would skip the Anthem just for that. They still have the dream works characters on the Allure and then there will be the zip line, rock climbing wall and flow rider for the teens and adults to try on the Allure.

[Rubeng724]

Thank you all for the help! I think we'll be sticking to either the Anthem or the Allure! I was leaning towards the Anthem before, but now I'm not so sure! The Allure looks awesome too! Is the food and service really that much better on the Allure? I know Dynamic Dining on the Quantum was a huge fail for some (I know I would HATE it), so if I went on the Anthem, I would choose Dynamic Classic.

Edited January 2, 2016 by Rubeng724

[dani negreanu]

Having "sampled" both Allure & Anthem, Allure wins hands down.

 

As you said, the Allure for us was THE DESTINATION :)

[marci22]

I would choose Allure and then check for price drops every day. I think a Western itinerary on Allure, not during a holiday week, will have further sales at some point.

[drb116]

I have been on Disney Magic severe times (it is our favorite Disney ship), Oasis, and Anthem, so I can offer a perspective on all of these.

 

I always find that Disney cruises are really magical with all the Disney touches that you expect, however this wears off after several cruises. If you haven't been on a Disney cruise, I would recommend that as a first option, even with the ages of your family. Disney may not include much more than Royal Caribbean, but what you pay on Royal Caribbean is much more than what you pay on Disney (i.e. drinks are more expensive, activities at the private islands are more, etc.). Castaway Cay is also hands down a great day and something you will not get on Royal Caribbean.

 

With that said, if you are not into the magic of Disney as much, I would say that either of the Royal Caribbean ships would be good options. We found that the Anthem had great teen activities, such as teen only flow rider, teens only bumper cars, a teen prom on the last night, etc. Also, thinks like iFly, roller skating, trapeze, all play well with that age group.

 

Allure will be similar and if I was picking a Royal Caribbean, I would probably choose Allure based on the itinerary. We really liked the Oasis class better than the Quantum class for our kids age (6 and 8), but I think both would be good for teens.

[drb116]

Thank you all for the help! I think we'll be sticking to either the Anthem or the Allure! I was leaning towards the Anthem before, but now I'm not so sure! The Allure looks awesome too! Is the food and service really that much better on the Allure? I know Dynamic Dining on the Quantum was a huge fail for some (I know I would HATE it), so if I went on the Anthem, I would choose Dynamic Classic.

 

The food on the Anthem was not any worse than others. It was the service that was an issue and we found it hit or miss depending on the restaurant. If we did it again, I would avoid the American Icon Grill as they didn't seem to know how to do a dinner service. Others like The Grande were great service for us.