Tell me about these four ships...

[MaiTaiMary]

We are looking at our first family Royal Caribbean cruise next year. There are four possible cruises that will work for our dates.

 

Still discussing the ports and what we want to do, but I'm also very interested in how these four ships differ. We will have our tweens with us and they like to have a lot to do on board.We're interested in things like the flow rider, sky diving, Abyss, Aqua theater, water slides, etc.

 

I'm looking at the speciality restaurants and the are nothing but names to be at this point! LOL I don't know which ones are more popular than others.

 

Anyway.... Here are the four ships. Could somebody tell me which "bells and whistles" they have and if any are standing out as better than the others?

 

Adventure of the Seas

Harmony of the Seas

Oasis of the Seas

Allure of the Seas

 

We're new to Royal Caribbean, so any help is appreciated. Thanks!

[Ourusualbeach]

Adventure will be mainly for the ports while the other 3 will be more about the ship with a couple ports thrown in as an afterthought.

 

Harmony has the slides while Allure and Oasis don't. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the 3 Oasis class ships and I would base it on price first.

 

If you are looking for expanded dining and entertainment options there are a lot more on the 3 Oasis class ships.

 

Shows, Harmony has Grease, Allure has Mamma Mia and Oasis has Cats

 

Specialty dining, Allure and Oasis are similar while Harmony has Jamies Italian instead of Giovannis and it has Wonderland as well.

 

None of these ships has the indoor skydiving. (Ifly)

Edited December 18, 2016 by Ourusualbeach

[MaiTaiMary]

Thank you!

 

Out of those four ships, is the Harmony the only one with the Abyss?

 

My kids love the waterslides so much, I'm afraid they will be bored on seadays without it. Yet the Harmony is the most expensive.

 

 

Which shows have gotten the best reviews?

 

Which speciality restaurants are most popular?

 

Thanks. :)

[Clarea]

Thank you!

 

Out of those four ships, is the Harmony the only one with the Abyss?...

Yes.

 

There are waterslides on Adventure, but I don't believe any are a dry slide.

Edited December 18, 2016 by clarea

[Aquahound]

Ignore that last post.

 

Harmony has the most bells and whistles. Through your other threads, I think we already satisfied the kids, so on to you.

 

The main show on Harmony is Grease. Allure is Mama Mia, and Oasis is Cats. Cats seems to get the worst reviews of the 3. Otherwise, the shows are all similar...being the ice show, Aqua theater show and comedy show. On any of the 3, you'll be very impressed compared to your past cruises. Entertainment and ship design is where RCI shines.

 

Of the specialty restaurants...this is totally subjective, but Giovannis Table seems to be one of the most popular. Izumi is good is you like sushi. Personally, I'd say avoid Chops. I think they've gone downhill and do not compare to Carnival's Steakhouse.

[MaiTaiMary]

 

Harmony has the most bells and whistles. Through your other threads, I think we already satisfied the kids, so on to you.

 

The main show on Harmony is Grease. Allure is Mama Mia, and Oasis is Cats. Cats seems to get the worst reviews of the 3. Otherwise, the shows are all similar...being the ice show, Aqua theater show and comedy show. On any of the 3, you'll be very impressed compared to your past cruises. Entertainment and ship design is where RCI shines.

 

Of the specialty restaurants...this is totally subjective, but Giovannis Table seems to be one of the most popular. Izumi is good is you like sushi. Personally, I'd say avoid Chops. I think they've gone downhill and do not compare to Carnival's Steakhouse.

 

You're awesome. thank you! :D

[bobmacliberty]

Which shows have gotten the best reviews?

 

From what I've read in reviews, Grease and MamaMia get good reviews. Cats...not so much. I don't think that has anything to do with the performers but rather the show itself. Cats can get a little slow. The cast is almost always very good, so it all depends on what you like.

[Grandma Dazzles]

Other than the water slide, you will find Harmony, Oasis and Allure very similar. Go to the RC website where you can read up on each ship. Harmony is the newest of the three and hence most expensive. Cannot imagine kids being bored on any of the three.

 

RC ships are listed by"class" each class of ships is pretty much identical with a few changes between ships, but basically the same size, amenities. The three ships mentioned above are Oasis class.

[drrich2]

Adventure of the Seas is the smallest, but still huge ship in my view. It's got the Royal Promenade, like walking down a quaint main street surrounded by shops. So do the others you mentioned. It's got the most interesting ports; the others are restricted to ports with deep enough areas to dock (or tender a lot of passengers!).

 

Adventure does not have Central Park, which is a pleasant 'oasis of green' to walk through, more meaningful than it may sound, or the Boardwalk. I doubt your kids care about riding the carousel, and maybe even the hot dog place on the Boardwalk won't be a big deal (I like it!), and last I heard Adventure didn't have the flow riders.

 

In a nutshell, all should be big fun, and Adventure is getting the water slides, but if the ship is the destination, the others offer more ship.

 

But if hitting a good range of foreign ports and doing shore excursions is the main attraction, Adventure of the Seas is going to look good.

 

If water slides are a big deal, it's Adventure vs. Harmony, and consider the price tag on those cruises.

 

Richard.

Edited December 18, 2016 by drrich2

[grandmarnnurse]

I've sailed the Oasis, and I think the Allure is just like it. LOVED IT! Plenty for kids to do on them, but the Harmony is newer and has more for them, so that might be the ship to choose. But if the itinerary for the Oasis and Allure are more to your liking, you can't go wrong with them. As for the Adventure, I'm not familiar with that ship at all.

 

 

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[Grandma Dazzles]

Adventure of the Seas is the smallest, but still huge ship in my view. It's got the Royal Promenade, like walking down a quaint main street surrounded by shops. So do the others you mentioned. It's got the most interesting ports; the others are restricted to ports with deep enough areas to dock (or tender a lot of passengers!).

 

Richard.

 

Just an FYI. Oasis class ships do not tender; they only dock.

[TravelerThom]

Adventure of the Seas is the smallest, but still huge ship in my view. It's got the Royal Promenade, like walking down a quaint main street surrounded by shops. So do the others you mentioned. It's got the most interesting ports; the others are restricted to ports with deep enough areas to dock (or tender a lot of passengers!)...

Oasis class was designed without the ability to tender passengers.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Harmony and Allure sail from Port Everglades; extremely convenient from FLL airport.

 

Oasis sails from Port Canaveral, an hour from MCO Orlando airport. But MCO is near Disney and Universal if you also wanted to do those.

 

Adventure sails from San Juan. Old San Juan is interesting to visit and with El Yunqui rain forest could provide a couple of nice pre-cruise days if you haven't been there. Only one flowrider, but fewer people so not that much busier. Adventure does not have a Broadway show, but will have a show with selected Broadway tunes - this might even be more attractive to kids (and adults) who have shorter attention spans. If you have never been on RCI before, the kids will think this is a wonderful ship. The three Oasis-class ships go to the same (old to me) ports. For me Adventure ports are more interesting.

 

Don't price just the cruise, consider airfare and local transportation also. I'm in Florida for this part of the year, so FL cruises work out cheaper than PR for us, but your airfares might tip the balance the other way.

 

Thom

[vacationlover_mn]

Harmony has the Wonderland restaurant, with very funky food- you should look it up! I can't wait to try it :)

 

 

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[rkkunk]

The Oasis class ships have so much to offer: flow riders, zip line, ice skating, rock wall, cool youth area to hang out in, Aqua theater with awesome Aqua show. (And of course Harmony has the Abyss and the water slides.) If you are more concerned about the kids being bored, I think you should pick one of these ships, the kids will love it!

If price is a concern pick Oasis or Allure as they are priced better right now. Just pick which port is more convenient for you.

If you aren't concerned with price or where the port is, I'd say go for the Harmony.

Whatever you choose, have fun!!

Oh also, Giovanni's is our favorite specialty restaurant and Sabor seems to be pretty popular as well.

 

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Edited December 18, 2016 by rkkunk

[MaiTaiMary]

Don't price just the cruise, consider airfare and local transportation also.

 

Absolutely. We're in San Diego, so everything is airplane travel for us. Just trying to get a feel for the ships, first. There is a small window we have to travel this year and these are the only ships that sail within that time. I've learned a lot this morning about the ships! Thank you! :D We'll start pricing out exact cruises next, then move to ports (we've never been to any of these), price out airfare (which is about the same to all of the ports for us).

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Ignore that last post.

 

Harmony has the most bells and whistles. Through your other threads, I think we already satisfied the kids, so on to you.

 

The main show on Harmony is Grease. Allure is Mama Mia, and Oasis is Cats. Cats seems to get the worst reviews of the 3. Otherwise, the shows are all similar...being the ice show, Aqua theater show and comedy show. On any of the 3, you'll be very impressed compared to your past cruises. Entertainment and ship design is where RCI shines.

 

Of the specialty restaurants...this is totally subjective, but Giovannis Table seems to be one of the most popular. Izumi is good is you like sushi. Personally, I'd say avoid Chops. I think they've gone downhill and do not compare to Carnival's Steakhouse.

 

Just off the Allure Dec 4.

 

Went to Izumi which was very good. Nobody at our table had sushi. It's all about the Hibachi grill.

 

I agree Cats was a yawner when we saw that on the Oasis. Mama Mia was great on Allure.

 

We also ate at Chops and had a great meal. Haven't been to the steak house on CCL because it's been too long but it was better than NCL's steak house.

 

Bill

[ColoradoGurl]

I haven't seen too many Adventure fans on this thread so I'll chime in, in favor of that ship. Adventure has plenty of things to do for kids. I've been on that ship with a 13, 9 and 5 year old and all 3 of them loved it. We went on the ship before the recent refurbishment, which added water slides and a flow rider. The refurbishment was a bit upended because of the hurricane, so currently only one of the two slides is operational, but everything should be up and running in the next couple of months (if not sooner).

 

Adventure visits much better ports. You'll go to 5 islands instead of 3, and they will be exotic ports with more beautiful beaches and they'll be much less "touristy" and more authentic Caribbean islands than you'll see on the other 3 ships. I also like that you can walk on several decks of the Adventure and be outside and view the ocean. I've never been on the Oasis class ships but it appears that there are very few public areas on that ship where you can see outside or know that you're on a ship or on the ocean at all. They're more of a hotel resort than a cruise, and they visit some of the least appealing islands in the Caribbean, which is why I have avoided them.

 

 

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Edited December 18, 2016 by ColoradoGurl

[Aquahound]

Yes.

 

There are waterslides on Adventure, but I don't believe any are a dry slide.

 

Ignore that last post.

 

Sorry Bob, this wasn't meant for you. The post I was referring to was deleted.

[vacationlover_mn]

I agree that Adventure has super- awesome ports! However, said if I was a teen, I'd prefer Oasis class ships...

 

 

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Edited December 18, 2016 by vacationlover_mn

[peacefrogdog]

I also have tween kids. Just off Harmony and have been on Oasis and Allure. While Harmony is newer and in my opinion looks a bit nicer, there are lots of wrinkles that need to be ironed out on Harmony. dining allocation process in the main dining room was a mess. Staff were seldom helpful when there was an issue. We seemed to get a lot of replies saying "just wait another 30 min and the problem will be fixed" that in retrospect were ways to make us go away. In contrast our cruises on Allure and Oasis were seamless.

 

If the first time on a RC ship, your kids won't notice that there are no water slides on Allure or Oasis because there is so much else to do. If I recall correctly I think Allure and Oasis also now have Wonderland after their dry docks.

[PTAngel]

I was on the Oasis in September. There is a large basketball court that was being used it seemed like all the time. The ping pong tables were also full. There was a line at the flowrider & the zipline. I guess the golf was too tame for most people but it was being used. There was also public ice skating plus all the shows (CATS, comedy club, skating show, headliner show, & water show). We had a great time on the scavenger hunt even though we gave up since I have a mobility issue. I'm going again on the Oasis in March.

[moopetguy]

Does Allure still have the Samba Grill (a Brazilian churrascarria) in the Solarium for dinner? Because it's not currently mentioned on the RCI web page for Allure: http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/ships/class/ship/home.do?shipClassCode=OA&shipCode=AL&br=R

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Does Allure still have the Samba Grill (a Brazilian churrascarria) in the Solarium for dinner? Because it's not currently mentioned on the RCI web page for Allure: http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/ships/class/ship/home.do?shipClassCode=OA&shipCode=AL&br=R

 

Yes it does. We ate there day 2 of of cruise a few weeks ago. Never got to indulge in all the meats as we were very full. lol

 

Bill

[TravelerThom]

...If I recall correctly I think Allure and Oasis also now have Wonderland after their dry docks.

You are correct that Allure and Oasis had PLANS to put Wonderland into the former Concierge Lounge at drydock or immediately thereafter, but that never happened.

 

When O was drydocked the Viking Crown Lounge was turned into the Suite Lounge, freeing up the former CL for Wonderland. During the same drydock the small forward starboard section of Deck 4 MDR was turned into Izumi and the small forward portside section of Deck 4 MDR was turned into the Diamond Lounge (being moved from Deck 6 overlooking the Promenade). The plan was to install Dynamic Dining on Oasis, but that never happened. The removal of the several hundred tables in the two small forward sections of Deck 4 MDR was a disaster as it was next to impossible to accommodate everyone in the MDR (Traditional Dining uses each table twice per evening; Dynamic Dining [and MTD] on average can use a table three times). In short order the Diamond Lounge was moved into the former Concierge Lounge freeing up the small Deck 4 portside area to once again be part of the MDR, and scuttled the plans for installing Wonderland on Oasis and Allure. (Harmony's DL is in the area O & A use as the Comedy Club, and H's Comedy Club is across the hall in the O & A "Blaze" nightclub area.)

 

Thom

[MaiTaiMary]

I also have tween kids. Just off Harmony and have been on Oasis and Allure. While Harmony is newer and in my opinion looks a bit nicer, there are lots of wrinkles that need to be ironed out on Harmony. dining allocation process in the main dining room was a mess. Staff were seldom helpful when there was an issue. We seemed to get a lot of replies saying "just wait another 30 min and the problem will be fixed" that in retrospect were ways to make us go away. In contrast our cruises on Allure and Oasis were seamless.

 

If the first time on a RC ship, your kids won't notice that there are no water slides on Allure or Oasis because there is so much else to do. If I recall correctly I think Allure and Oasis also now have Wonderland after their dry docks.

 

What did your tween kids like to do on the Oasis and Allure?