Any diehard Celebrity fans try Oasis ships?

[Tennant]

We love Celebrity and have also enjoyed Princess and Holland. All before kids. Just returned from a great cruise on Reflection with our 9.5 month old baby. Form our next cruise are considering Allure OTS. Anyone who loves Celebrity tired and liked these ships? I'm worried about crowds and food mostly. The big draw is the 6-18 month old nursery and baby splash pool. Not crazy about their pricing. Babies are 100% full price. Thanks!

 

 

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[Fouremco]

We enjoyed a 12-member family cruise on the Allure OTS last March. Ages ranged from 18 months to mid seventies. As grandparents, we loved to see the 5 grandkids enjoy themselves, but we also enjoyed seeing our kids and their spouses enjoy their first cruise.

 

As older adults, Celebrity has greater appeal to us than the Allure, although there are some features that I would love to see on Celebrity ships. As you are closer to our kids' ages, and they loved the Allure, I suspect that you will fit right in.

 

We found the food to be quite good. Most nights we all ate together in the MDR at a table for 12 and I don't recall anyone making a negative comment. I wouldn't book a cruise on the Allure for the food, but I certainly wouldn't not book because of it.

 

As for crowds, yes, a lot of people, but somehow the size and design of the ship seem to absorb the numbers. We were cruising on a full ship during March break, and it doesn't get any busier than that, but it simply wasn't an issue for us.

[gerelmx]

Our last cruise was at the Oasis we will now try Celebrity, the crowds of people are few, such that my wife enjoyed the carousel several times. I recommend booking the shows in advance.

[grandgeezer]

We used to be diehard Celebrity fans but we don't see any value in the current product offered. 2017 is the first year we haven't cruised with anybody since 2003. We have a big anniversary coming up this year so we'd give cruising one last fling hoping booking a suite would mitigate some of the things we don't like. Since we are Elite Plus on Celebrity and Diamond on Royal Caribbean we'd limit our searches between the two, for the benefits. We have been on the Allure for six cruises so we knew what we might be getting into

 

1) Celebrity Equinox, eight day Caribbean cruise. Sky Suite (308 sq ft with 87 sq ft balcony). Best Promotion, $437 p.p. per day including all taxes and fees.

2) Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas seven day Caribbean leaving six days later. Grand Suite (371 sq.ft with 107 sq ft balcony). Prepaid gratuities $200 obc. Free internet, 3 1/2 hour loyalty bar with three drink coupons added to you room card included in base price. $224 p.p. per day. The Sky Suite is about $30 p.p. per day less. I think these prices are still available if you want to check.

It's going to be a Royal week.

[NordicPrince]

W Since we are Elite Plus on Celebrity and Diamond on Royal Caribbean we'd limit our searches between the two, for the benefits. .

 

Since you are Elite Plus and Diamond and mention it, I think it would be difficult to be satisfied with much.

 

The DW and I stay in inside cabins and find just about everything enjoyable, mainly because we don't feel entitled.

 

As far as very young children are concerned IMHO they don;t belong on cruises and should be left home with relatives or friends, unless they;re like 4 or 5 where you all can go on a Disney cruise. Otherwise Mom and Dad deserve a sanity break!!!!

[grandgeezer]

Since you are Elite Plus and Diamond and mention it, I think it would be difficult to be satisfied with much.

 

The DW and I stay in inside cabins and find just about everything enjoyable, mainly because we don't feel entitled.

 

As far as very young children are concerned IMHO they don;t belong on cruises and should be left home with relatives or friends, unless they;re like 4 or 5 where you all can go on a Disney cruise. Otherwise Mom and Dad deserve a sanity break!!!!

 

We don't feel entitled. I think there are people who takes jabs at people who mention their status are a wee bit jealous. We sailed a lot with them and earned it. I mentioned it because use a good share of the benefits. A dollar figure can be put on them and that means less money we would spend if we sailed with someone else. There's a saying "if you set your standards low enough, you'll never be disappointed".

[PROCRUISE]

Tried the Allure assuming that I'd probably dislike it a lot because of the number of passengers on board and the ship being crowded and poor service. I actually enjoyed the ship, found the service to be good, the production shows outstanding (book times ahead), the MDR run well and food was fine. The only thing I'd do differently is we book a cabin facing "Central Park" and I missed seeing the ocean. I still prefer Celebrity but I'd say, do try the RCCL Allure if you're considering it.

[tink218]

My husband and I were on the Allure in October. We were given a Grand Suite, booked a JS gty. The cabin was great and we were very happy we had access to the Coastal Kitchen for all meals and the suite lounge. Never stepped foot in the MDR or the Winjammer. We did eat in Chops 2 nights and enjoyed it very much. Would we sail on it again, no. It was just too big for us and we missed the smaller venues for music and things did feel too crowded.

We are in our early 60s and enjoy the solarium, but did not enjoy the one on the Allure. The loungers were not comfortable and the pool was way too small. I am glad we tried it, but we love what we get with Celebrity.

[DWhit]

We enjoyed the Oasis much more than we expected. As others have commented, it really doesn't feel that crowded. I'd say go for it!

[LinVirginia]

We took our DS, DDIL, and beloved GS on the Oasis 2 year’s ago to the Caribbean. My husband and I prefer Celebrity but I really thought our 8/year old GS would be better wow-ed by RCCL. I was expected to think the ship OK - even though we had both enjoyed 3 cruises 20 years ago on Royal. Loved, then, the pep and spirit. I thought that this was more of a cruise pleasing the others. I was quite interested in what such a huge ship as the Oasis would be like.

When we entered, it was nothing like any ship I had been on - the Oasis was like a shopping mall with fake stone and shop upon shop. Eck. However, we enjoyed so much of this not-like-anything-we-had-ever-experienced ship. Watching the surfers, taking in the shows, and watching the ice skating spectacular was wonderful. The 2/of us who never go to shows shipboard had the best time on RCCL. The food in the MDR was fine - I was impressed, expecting less. We never felt like we were in long lines - the huge passenger numbers were never obvious. I think for a family (multi-generational) trip including kids, a large RCCL ship would be perfect.

We are taking our grandson, now 11, on Celebrity - just the 3 of us (no mom & dad) to Alaska this August. I expect he’ll miss the RCCL hoopla he experienced at 8 but I know he’ll have a wonderful time with all we’ve planned.

Again, if I were to take the whole family again, I would choose a huge RCCL because of the incredible variety offered. For just us, Celebrity is perfect.

[Beachlover1989]

I concur with most posts. We've been on the Oasis with our 13 year old and he absolutely loved it! It was in March in the Caribbean so the ship was full and did seem kind of crowded, but not too bad. The ship is so large that it helps with that. We enjoyed ourselves too.

 

However, if it's just the two of us we definitely do Celebrity. I love that's it's more relaxed and elegant. And not a lot of screeching children. I also believe the staff of Celebrity are much more attentive and really get to know you.

 

Long story short - Adults - Celebrity. Family - Royal Caribbean.

 

 

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[TFLG]

We enjoyed the Allure. I didn't like having to reserve a seat to see the show, I could never remember. And the buffet is a freaking zoo, we gave up on it. Finding a place to sit is like a game of musical chairs. You walk around looking for someone leaving then dash to get their table before the other vultures do. We eventually found a little cafe in the central park area that had decent breakfast sandwiches and stuff. We went there most days. Their roast beef sandwiches at lunch were AM-azing! Other than the buffet and the theater we really liked it.

[DEL871082]

Following this thread.

 

My wife and I enjoy Celebrity when we are alone but have tentatively booked the Allure for our children's first Cruise in 2019 (once the youngest is three). We aren't likely to cruise with our kids often so we felt RCI would wow them. Our oldest is already stoked about the rock wall.

[hcat]

We tried Oasis.., it was not for us. MDR service and food quality could not compare favorably with X. Even the Specialty dining was not that great, and if it rained you had to walk in the open parts of the park...bad layout. The deli on the park was overcrowded, rude patrons, tables smelled of dishrag, ick.

 

We did not like having to pre order tickets to shows/ events and lining up. Many areas were crowded to overcrowded. Music was better than X but not by much. Shows much better, The indoor mall area not very high end...just alot of folks milling around. The computer area was very small and the library had many snoring nappers in there every day

 

, Ship simply did not fit our cruise style but we wanted to try it ....Saving grace was the Adult only outdoor Solarium before it got crowded, Diamond breakfast area and the Diamond gathering each night...awesome spread!

 

.I do think this would be a nice ship for a family vacation. They had a nice kiddie spray park, carousel, places to wheel babies. Older kids would enjoy zip line, climbing walls, ice show and flow rider.

Edited January 24, 2018 by hcat

[riclop]

We love the Oasis class of ship much more than X.

[volk904]

My last 2 cruises have been on Celebrity but the Oasis is still my favorite class ship. I consider the food similar but the breakfast and lunch options like the park Cafe and even free Johnny Rockets breakfast are great. You will find that other than the muster drill the ship is so big it does. Not seem more crowded than other ships. Also the shows are better.

 

 

 

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[Want2Cruise 701]

We tried Oasis and Freedom once. While RC does provide a good product, we've found their ships just aren't for us. They are too big for us and we don't feel like we're at sea. When we disembarked Oasis, DH and I both said "were we just on a cruise"?

 

The food on Oasis was fair-ok compared to X. The MDR we found was dark and loud. Like hcat said, we gave up on the windjammer cafe. There was always a line to get in and it was difficult to find a table. For specialty dining, we ate in Chops and Giovannis Table and both were just ok. Not worth paying for IMO.

 

One thing we really dislike is the Royal Promenade. It is dark, confining and always too much going on. I fee like i'm underground there. We avoid it except to get pizza if in the mood.

 

The pool areas are very crowded. I thought the pool areas on the S class ships were crowded compared to the M class but Oasis was worse. The beach pool was nice with the umbrellas but only til about noon time then it became really crowded and noisy. Same for the Solarium. The mornings were nice until it got crowded. We did eat our breakfasts in the Solarium. They did have a nice mini buffet there. Much better alternative than the Windjammer.

 

I also found the ship very disconnecting with all the different areas spread out over the ship. It's just impossible to see and do everything on a 7 night cruise. Making reservations is a pain as well.

 

On a positive note, the shows are excellent. We enjoy them. Central Park was nice. We had a cabin on deck 8 and would always walk through CP to get to the opposite elevators. Boardwalk wasn't bad but only utilized it for the aqua show and to see a basketball game they had on the screen one night. Johnny Rockets has breakfast but we found the Boardwalk location not convenient for us.

 

Everything is subjective just like food. Some like and some don't. We find Celebrity a much better fit for us, and our children do as well. We started cruising Celebrity and tried other lines to see but always find ourselves coming back. You'll never know until you try. Good luck.

[Mr. Click]

Back in 2013 we tried the Allure at the invitation of some good friends. We did not like it. The food in the MDR was terrible, so bad we either did specialty restaurants or just pizza for our dinners for a week. The service was worse than the food. The maitre 'd could not be bothered with us so we found our way to our table and eventually got served some food that we just left over. Service in other areas of the ship was not much better. Pizza guy refused to give a fresh pizza he was taking out of the oven because he had stale ones sitting there rotting, cabin steward was ok but nothing like we have had with Celebrity. The shows were nice, different but the crowds made it pretty uncomfortable most of the time. We have not been back on a RCI ship since but have done a bunch of Celebrity cruises and loved every one of them. We are going on the Independence OTS in May because the itinerary is better and hoping for the best. It is a smaller ship and hopefully better run. Curious to see how the Elite vs Diamond benefits work out. We just did our first Celebrity Elite cruise and enjoyed all of the benefits but looking at RCI, I don't see them being so great.

[TeeRick]

We sail a lot on both Celebrity and RCCL. More recently on Celebrity as we are newly retired, no kids at home, and enjoy longer itineraries. We enjoy both lines and enjoy their differences instead of looking at the usual comparisons found here on this site. Food, entertainment, whatever are all highly subjective. We have sailed on Allure and truly enjoyed it and we are booked later this year on Harmony. That said, Oasis-Class has no equivalent on Celebrity. Truly Apples to Oranges. Oasis-Class is all about the ship and sails mostly short itineraries in well known ports. Celebrity is more destination and service focused. There is no right or wrong. It depends on what you enjoy - and like us- perhaps the mood you are in.

[Tennant]

Thanks so much for all the great feedback. Really torn, Celebrity always feels like a lux relaxing vacation even when we traveled with our baby, just worried we won't get that vibe on RCL.

 

 

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[hcat]

Thanks so much for all the great feedback. Really torn, Celebrity always feels like a lux relaxing vacation even when we traveled with our baby, just worried we won't get that vibe on RCL.

 

 

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Based on this and your first post, I think with the baby you are better off with X...you will be more catered to, not just a number.... and on Royal you'll just be one of the pack. Maybe save Royal for when baby is older...toddler etc. That age can appreciate characters, spray park, carousel & and all the good stuff Royal has for kiddies! Babies are happy when their parents are happy!

 

Unless the baby nursery is key? Then go with Royal...

Edited January 24, 2018 by hcat

[blueboro]

I am sure I would be awed by the ship but, to me, when you have to make reservations in advance to see entertainment it kind of defeats the purpose of a relaxing cruise.

[grandgeezer]

I am sure I would be awed by the ship but, to me, when you have to make reservations in advance to see entertainment it kind of defeats the purpose of a relaxing cruise.

 

If you made the reservations BEFORE you went on the cruise how does that prevent you from having a relaxing cruise?

[blueboro]

If you made the reservations BEFORE you went on the cruise how does that prevent you from having a relaxing cruise?

 

Spontaneity

 

[excitedofharpenden]

We love Celebrity and have also enjoyed Princess and Holland. All before kids. Just returned from a great cruise on Reflection with our 9.5 month old baby. Form our next cruise are considering Allure OTS. Anyone who loves Celebrity tired and liked these ships? I'm worried about crowds and food mostly. The big draw is the 6-18 month old nursery and baby splash pool. Not crazy about their pricing. Babies are 100% full price. Thanks!

 

 

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I’ve been on Allure and it didn’t feel crowded to me. I thought it handled passenger numbers very well. I like the Central Park area and sometimes it was hard to believe the number of other guests. The only time I felt it was crowded was when using the lifts to traverse the ship. Food was also a surprise. I really enjoyed it and there was a huge variety to choose from. The ship is beautiful.

 

Phil