Is Allure for me?

[Deep68]

I have been contemplating taking a 7 day Allure cruise this September for my wedding anniversary. 
There are not many options for the data of our anniversary and I am struggling to determine if an interior facing balcony on such a large ship is for us. There are no ocean view balconies available.

The price is right and I like the idea of all the things to do and what sounds like great entertainment, but we are used to smaller (up to 3K) ships and concerned about how bad the queues etc. are.

Only available room are on the14th floor and was a little concerned about noise from the pool or central park.

 

I have taken around 20 cruises primarily on HAL, Celebrity and Norwegian but did take 2 RCL cruises on smaller ships many years ago.

 

Would love to hear thoughts from those that took the leap to a larger ship.

[GTO-Girl]

12 minutes ago, Deep68 said:

I have been contemplating taking a 7 day Allure cruise this September for my wedding anniversary. 
There are not many options for the data of our anniversary and I am struggling to determine if an interior facing balcony on such a large ship is for us. There are no ocean view balconies available.

The price is right and I like the idea of all the things to do and what sounds like great entertainment, but we are used to smaller (up to 3K) ships and concerned about how bad the queues etc. are.

Only available room are on the14th floor and was a little concerned about noise from the pool or central park.

 

I have taken around 20 cruises primarily on HAL, Celebrity and Norwegian but did take 2 RCL cruises on smaller ships many years ago.

 

Would love to hear thoughts from those that took the leap to a larger ship.

The Allure is a beautiful ship!!!  These mega ships are great at spreading people out so to me it doesn’t feel as crowded as the smaller ships.  There is so much to see and do!!

 

But for me personally I would not want a cabin on Deck 14 as it is directly under the pool deck, which could be noisy when they are cleaning the decks in the middle of the night!

 

if you can find another location I wouldn’t hesitate to book it!!

[Tippyton]

We just got off and I wrote a review on this board.

[PhillyFan33579]

The one problem I have experienced on every Oasis class ship is there are never enough lounge chairs available. If you don’t have a chair by 9 AM good luck finding a chair on any deck level. On the other hand, I have never had a problem finding a lounge chair on any other class of RCI ship any time of day.

[Tatka]

Before Allure we had 5 cruises with RCI. 3 on Explorer, 1 on Splendor and 1 on Brilliance. Much smaller that Allure:

 

Also before Allure cruised on

Celebrity (Century, Mercury, Summit) so all smaller

Holland - Zuiderdam

NCL - Sun, Dawn, Gem, Jewel, Breakaway

Carnival - Liberty, Miracle, Glory

Princess - Caribbean X 3, Ruby

 

When we entered Allure at age of 40+ we literally felt like kids in candy store. Very interesting ship. Never felt more crowded than other ships.

 

We did feel that Carnival Liberty and NCL Breakaway were very crowded. Allure was not.

It is a large ship with many people... but it is a huge ship so people spread nicely. What important is ship design and number of people to size ratio. Allure is well designed.

 

[Tatka]

1 minute ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

The one problem I have experienced on every Oasis class ship is there are never enough lounge chairs available. If you don’t have a chair by 9 AM good luck finding a chair on any deck level. On the other hand, I have never had a problem finding a lounge chair on any other class of RCI ship any time of day.

 

In any pool or specific pool?

[firefly333]

Idk which date in sept or which interior facing balcony. I've had both, the facing central park and the end of boardwalk deck 10 on allure.

 

I too have allure booked this sept again b2b but keeping the same cabin this time. Central park is more quiet, the other if near the end you can see out the aft. 

 

Mama mia is fabulous. 

[PhillyFan33579]

2 minutes ago, Tatka said:

 

In any pool or specific pool?

Any where on the ship period. On other classes of ships, lounge chairs by the pools may not be available, but if you go up a deck above the pools there are plenty of lounge chairs available. On Oasis class ships every lounge chair is used not only on the pool decks, but also on other decks on the ships. 

[Tatka]

Just now, PhillyFan33579 said:

Any where on the ship period. On other classes of ships, lounge chairs by the pools may not be available, but if you go up a deck above the pools there are plenty of lounge chairs available. On Oasis class ships every lounge chair is used not only on the pool decks, but also on other decks on the ships. 

 

On the contrary, we are usually surprised by availability of chairs.

We sailed on Allure in 2016 and Oasis in 2021 and 2022.

Solarium gets filled pretty fast. We saw people there even at 6 am, but in other places there are usually free chairs much later.

 

[PhillyFan33579]

2 minutes ago, Tatka said:

 

On the contrary, we are usually surprised by availability of chairs.

We sailed on Allure in 2016 and Oasis in 2021 and 2022.

Solarium gets filled pretty fast. We saw people there even at 6 am, but in other places there are usually free chairs much later.

 

In the last 7 months I have been on Wonder 3 times, Harmony 2 times and Symphony once. On all 6 cruises you literally could not find a lounge chair any where on the ship around 11 AM (I always play pickleball for several hours every morning on a cruise). I am sailing on Harmony later this week, hopefully it will be better this cruise. I should state the obvious, I am referring to sea days. On port days finding lounge chairs is never a problem. 

[Tatka]

1 minute ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

In the last 7 months I have been on Wonder 3 times, Harmony 2 times and Symphony once. On all 6 cruises you literally could not find a lounge chair any where on the ship around 11 AM (I always play pickleball for several hours every morning on a cruise). I am sailing on Harmony later this week, hopefully it will be better this cruise. I should state the obvious, I am referring to sea days. On port days finding lounge chairs is never a problem. 

 

We sail almost on every class throughout a year now.

 

I cannot say that situation on Oasis was any different than on Anthem (multiple times), Enchantment (several times), Adventure for example. Will check Liberty soon.

[PhillyFan33579]

9 minutes ago, Tatka said:

 

We sail almost on every class throughout a year now.

 

I cannot say that situation on Oasis was any different than on Anthem (multiple times), Enchantment (several times), Adventure for example. Will check Liberty soon.

Over the last 7 months I have also sailed on Freedom 3 times, Independence 2 times, Grandeur 2 times, Odyssey once and Mariner once. I never had a problem finding a lounge chair any time of day on these cruises. 

[Tatka]

Well, sounds like we have different experiences then. 🙂

[Guest 4-2-N-8]

43 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

The one problem I have experienced on every Oasis class ship is there are never enough lounge chairs available. If you don’t have a chair by 9 AM good luck finding a chair on any deck level. On the other hand, I have never had a problem finding a lounge chair on any other class of RCI ship any time of day.

Are chairs reserved by any pool for Star Class?

[JupiterTwo]

I was on the Allure one month ago. We were in an Owner's Suite on deck 14 under the kid's splash pad. 

 

There were times when it was noisy in the evening, but not while we were trying to go to sleep.

 

If you have an inside balcony overlooking Central Park, you will be forward of the children's area. That area is open to the sky, so you will have the one of the two adult pools over the cabins.

 

If your inside cabin overlooks the Boardwalk, that is a different matter. That area is noisy due to the theme of that section, plus the aqua theater. Central Park was always a bit quieter during the times that I was there, since that's where Chops, Giovanni's Table, and 150 Central Park are (plus the photo studio).

 

[JupiterTwo]

1 hour ago, 4-2-N-8 said:

Are chairs reserved by any pool for Star Class?

There are two reserved areas for Suite guests, one by each pool. These sections are up a short flight of stairs just forward of the pools.

[Guest 4-2-N-8]

17 minutes ago, JupiterTwo said:

There are two reserved areas for Suite guests, one by each pool. These sections are up a short flight of stairs just forward of the pools.

Great. Thanks.

[Cruise a holic]

Love the allure.  I would urge you to consider a central park view cabin on deck nine.  It is considered an interior cabin, but you get a beautiful view of central park with a large picture window.  The cabin is very bright or of course you can close the shades. A great choice IMO. Oasis class ships our favorite 

Edited May 22, 2023 by Cruise a holic

[GJustice]

Was hesitant to try the Allure, but had been trying since pre-Covid when she was supposed to come to Galveston and didn't want to decide I didn't like it without actually TRYING it 🙂

 

After 7 nights I can say I don't LOVE it, but likewise don't HATE it. We booked 8 nights on Harmony for next year, so...

 

Like several have said earlier in this post, it doesn't FEEL crowded as you might think 6,498 fellow passengers might be. EVERYTHING is scaled up from the smaller ships while still a (mostly) familiar layout, just expanded.

 

Elevators are both more plentiful and MUCH larger than smaller ships. DW was using a scooter all week and I can count on one hand the number of times we had "elevator problems."

 

Don't do pool deck, so loungers aren't an issue. 🙂 

[Jerseygirl1416]

I’ve been on Oasis 3 times and have only done mega ships for that last few years until a recent Liberty sailing and I gotta say after the mega ships I felt Liberty to be lacking. There’s just so much more going on at any time on the big ships. Last time on Oasis we had an OS on deck 14. You could definitely hear the noise from that deck in the cabin but it was just noise during the day. One night they did have a deck party but it was over by 11pm. I’d say if you don’t sleep past 10am and don’t nap in your cabin during the day, deck 14 noise isn’t an issue. They never cleaned the decks in the middle of the night. 

[Jerseygirl1416]

8 hours ago, 4-2-N-8 said:

Are chairs reserved by any pool for Star Class?

On Oasis there’s a dedicated suite sun deck but you’re still not guaranteed a lounger. The early bird gets the worm when it comes to loungers especially in optimal areas on ships and resorts.

[moposh]

I sailed on Allure.  It was a little too crowded for me.

[Wanna Be Retired]

My first sailing after Covid was Allure out of Galveston.  I was not sure I would like it because of the size.  I expected it to be so crowded and horrible.  Boy was I wrong.  It was so nice and enjoyable!  It was so wonderful. That I am back on June 4 and my daughter is getting married in Central Parl. I am so glad I sailed!  It was such a fantastic experience!  People were great!  Crew and passengers!  Not one thing to complain about if I tried super hard!

[topnole]

9 hours ago, 4-2-N-8 said:

Are chairs reserved by any pool for Star Class?

No.  And the genie will not reserve chair. The suite sun deck will have open chairs, but chair hogs exist up there too.  

[topnole]

1 hour ago, Jerseygirl1416 said:

On Oasis there’s a dedicated suite sun deck but you’re still not guaranteed a lounger. The early bird gets the worm when it comes to loungers especially in optimal areas on ships and resorts.

More like the chair hogs will feed at the trough early in the morning.  There will be many chairs empty most of the day with a shoe sitting on them.  How many hogs exist varies each cruise.  Usually you’ll find chairs no problem.   Rare are the times have I struck out on the suite deck.