Oasis/Allure vs the rest of the fleet

[WK-Orlando]

Just came back from Allure and sailed Oasis last Fall. Wanted to share my thoughts on these vs the rest of the RCL fleet with regard to price value.

 

First let me say the new ships are definately unique and very well done as as most of the RCL ships.

 

Question : Are they worth nearly double the price?....

 

Well one time perhaps. Going forward my family will stick the the less expensive ships. The only real advantages to the big ships are extra shops (nothing worth buying though) and the water shows... Are these factors worth such a huge price bump... up to you. The rest of the accomodations are on par and not really different.

 

The ports for the monsters are not the best... Jamcia is always an argument but the new port is still under construction and will be just a mall full of expensive company stores when finished. Right now, just a handful of street vendors... The tram ride through the 'historic town' is a joke and based on the armed police escourt and very nervous guides, not that safe.. (every time we slowed for traffic they all got visably nervous...) Haiti is a nice 'private beach with rides' but that is really it... And everyone goes to Cozumel... The smaller ships have a much better variety of ports. The big ships are constrained by their size...

 

Also the buffet on the big ships is rather disappointing in terms of not enough room, smaller selections and on Allure, the food was always cold... Oasis did not have this problem so mark this up to a staffing problem. Actually all of the food on Oasis was notably better. Guess this reflects a management issue in the kitchens. On the other RCL ships, the buffets have a lot of variety, sushi all the time etc... just better. Most importantly, enough seating... Allure had repeating announcments asking people to clear out of the buffet to make room...

 

I will say that if you are choosing between Allure and Oasis go for Oasis. The shows are better, and they cheeped out on some details on Allure aside from the food I mentioned. Nothing that would make one stay away, just if they are sitting side by side, take Oasis.

 

Examples... our balcony cabins on Allure had safes so small you could not get camera, phones and wallets in without really cramming.. forget a netbook or jewelry boxes... Really suprised me they would cheep out on this item.. can't have saved enough money to make all of the security hassles, of not allowing people to lock stuff up, worth it... Even cheeper, they only have one curtain rod. We really like closing the shear curtain and leaving the heavy open. On Allure they are attached on the same rod so open and close together... That had to save them an entire dollar per cabin... In our Oasis cabin they were seperate...

 

These are just a couple of examples. There were more. Almost like they built Oasis, it came in over budget a bit and on Allure looked to clip a bit here and there...

 

Other thoughts:

 

Chicago the show on Allure SUCKS!!!! Seems like they picked the absolute least expensive show they could possibly produce and did it... Hairspray was much better on Oasis. Sad thing is the performers on Allure were really quite good, it was the 'production' that was bad. One evening the singers from Chicago sang in the aqua and were really good. Too bad the sound tech up mixed the band volume so much you could not hear them very well over the band. I mentioned this to the dep cruise director and he got a look like 'not again' and said he was pass it along. :rolleyes:

 

The 'eco-show' Blue Planet or something like that, is done in the main theatre near the end of the trip is really good. Mixes performers from all of the other shows together in a nice way.

 

The shops have almost NOTHING TO BUY... Jewelry shop have very high end prices on real trash... other shops also had nothing.... Oasis had a decent camera shop, Allure did not even have that... Art auctions are gone... to many lawsuits I would guess... Better things on the smaller ships. The new monsters are slim pickings... maybe they think you will be broke after buying the tickets... :D

 

Anyhow, just wanted to put this out. I have sailed most of the classes of RCL ships from the little to the new monsters. Like them all. My 2c is that a ride on one of the new monsters would be nice but if you are dollar constrained, save your money, take one of the pre-Oasis ships and you will have just as good of a time and have $1000+ to spend on activities...

[awboater]

We went on the Allure in Jan 2011.

 

When we booked it, the cabin was about 12% higher than a similar cabin on the Freedom - and during the same time of year, so I have not seen double the price for the Allure/Oasis.

[Cruising89143]

Different strokes. Have been on both Allure and Oasis for a total of four weeks and have Allure booked twice again. IMHO the other ships in the fleet cannot even begin to compare. Entertainment, dining options and the ships blow anything away on the other ships.

 

Chicago was not my cup of tea but this was not a cheap show that purchased the rights to. It's just the way that the show is staged. RCI was not allowed to make any changes with the show.

 

By the way, RCI severed ties with the art auction company sometime back.

 

For us when booking a standard eastern/western Caribbean cruise, only Oasis or Allure will be in the running.

[39august]

Disapointingly, the Freedom for Sept. 2012 is just about the same pricing for my preferred catagory as Oasis/Allure. These are the only 3 choices for that time of year to the Caribbean. I'll not book O/A as not interested. But wanted FOS. Oh well, will wait until Mariner is in Galveston and Nav. in NOLA for MUCH cheaper pricing. We will do a land vacation in Sept. 2012.

[Stags14]

You can get an Allure cruise for just over $800 pp. I'm sorry you didn't enjoy the show!

[bajathree]

Your comments on the safe and curtains are a bit at odds with what we experienced on Allure. While I agree the safe isn't huge I was able to store my I-Pad as well as my camera, jewelry, 2 I-Phones a Blackberry and my wallet. As far as the curtains I had no problem pulling the sheers closed while leaving the curtain open.

[RhondaC]

Thank you for your perspective! We have the Oasis booked for November, and we're thinking that it will probably just be once, then we'll go back to the Voyager-class ships (which are big enough for us!). But, we really want to experience the Oasis one time. :)

[cb at sea]

Have never bought a thing from any ship's store.....so that wouldn't make or break a ship's choice for me. Maybe, I'm just cheap....but I don't cruise to buy souvenirs!

[waterbug123]

 

Also the buffet on the big ships is rather disappointing in terms of not enough room, smaller selections and on Allure, the food was always cold... Oasis did not have this problem so mark this up to a staffing problem. Actually all of the food on Oasis was notably better. Guess this reflects a management issue in the kitchens. On the other RCL ships, the buffets have a lot of variety,

 

Examples... our balcony cabins on Allure had safes so small you could not get camera, phones and wallets in without really cramming.. forget a netbook or jewelry boxes....

 

Why worry about the buffet when there are so many other food options on Oasis/Allure? :confused:

 

As for the safes, I guess maybe if you are trying to stuff a huge camera with lots of extra lenses in there it could be tight, but we never had any problem fitting 2 wallets, 2 phones, camera, casino chips, jewelry, etc. If you have a big camera or laptop that doesn't fit, just lock it in your luggage if you're worried about it.

[Ocean Boy]

Why worry about the buffet when there are so many other food options on Oasis/Allure? :confused:

 

As for the safes, I guess maybe if you are trying to stuff a huge camera with lots of extra lenses in there it could be tight, but we never had any problem fitting 2 wallets, 2 phones, camera, casino chips, jewelry, etc. If you have a big camera or laptop that doesn't fit, just lock it in your luggage if you're worried about it.

 

Maybe because some folk really enjoy the Windjammer and buffets just as you, apparently, enjoy other dining options. What is so confusing about that? I agree with that poster. Consdiering how much RCI got right with the disign of Oasis/Allure the Windjammer is one area that they didn't get quite so right.

[bajathree]

I think I have stepped foot in Windjammer 2x on a total of 4X on Oasis Class...never even ate in WJ once on Oasis Class....just so many other choices....you just need to think a bit differently on Oasis Class;)....people are to used to going to WJ for breakfast and lunch from the other classes.

[Aquahound]

I think $1000+ more for Oasis Class is a bit of an exaggeration. On my recent Allure cruise, balconies were going for $899.

 

Thank you for your honest opinions. These ships are not for everyone. My opinions do differ and I do happen to think the Oasis Class experience is a lot better. The Windjammer, however, is definitely a bomb though.

[pinkrosesdeb]

The major thing I missed on the Allure was the feel of being at sea. So much of the time is spent "inside" like Central Park. You can't see the ocean as much. Some of favorite time oboard is spent watching the ocean. I think it's because this was our first time on allure and we didn't want to miss anything so not quite as relaxing which was totally our fault. Just really missed my "ocean time". Also did think that the service suffered a little compared to our other cruises maybe because there are so many people and the servers are working like crazy. We have never had a BAD cruise just BETTER cruises. Allure is amazing and should be done at least once.

[Trekker954]

As others have pointed out, the 7 night Allure and Oasis is NOT double the price of other 7 nighters. They are quite reasonable if you watch for sales and such. Having been on both, even if you paid a little more, the entertainment alone is worth it. Blue Planet (allure) blew us away. Never saw anything like that on a cruise before and never will. We did like Hairspray better than Chicago, but more because we were familiar with the songs, it was more upbeat, but truly both shows were excellent quality. the Aqua and ICE shows, we like some better on the Allure and the other better on the Oasis. But overall, I love these ships, glad we went on them and when they change the entertainment or shows, we'll book on them again. Rather than just cruise, cruise, cruise, we are now trying to always chose a different ship, so that we aren't seeing the same old shows, although it seems sometimes the Headliners follow us around from ship to ship. I understand why they don't swap out shows more often but I wish they did. Looking forward to seeing Saturday Night Fever on the Liberty later this year. I think they should also do Grease. and although they probably never would because of the topic, I'd love to see them do Rent.

[bajathree]

The major thing I missed on the Allure was the feel of being at sea. So much of the time is spent "inside" like Central Park. You can't see the ocean as much. Some of favorite time oboard is spent watching the ocean. I think it's because this was our first time on allure and we didn't want to miss anything so not quite as relaxing which was totally our fault. Just really missed my "ocean time". Also did think that the service suffered a little compared to our other cruises maybe because there are so many people and the servers are working like crazy. We have never had a BAD cruise just BETTER cruises. Allure is amazing and should be done at least once.

 

Were you in an ocean balcony cabin or interior:confused:

[minnie00]

Thanks for the honest review. Its good to hear all opinions.

The Allure/Oasis were really overpriced the first year or two...but to be honest...we are only paying $70 more per person to sail on Oasis over the Freedom in Sept. D room to D room.

I look forward to experiencing the "ship" on this cruise....we have been on Mariner 3 times and know the routing...so looking forward to a little change:cool:

[cruisingagentone]

They do still have the art auctions I attended two on the Oasis on the April 9 sailing.

But I think I'm done also with the Oasis class, the cabins are smaller and you are paying more and we just decided that we didn't use the other facilities enough to warrent the extra money and yes on some sailings it is almost double.

[39august]

Yes, some are! My NOS Dec. 1, 2012 GS is $1297 pp. The same date on Oasis, a GS is $2530...pretty close to double!

[read52]

We just got off the Allure last Sunday and we blown away by the ship and everything that it had to experience. We plan on doing it again. The curtains did separate and I would agree that the safes were smaller. We rarely eat in the Windjammer(only when we were in port on the smaller ships) so I can't compare it. We did not go into the Windjammer at all on the Allure. If you pull up the list on places to eat there is a great variety on the Allure/Oasis that are free. We did the character breakfast once, we ate at Johnny Rockets for breakfast twice, we did the solarium cafe a couple of times and the dining room. Then you can get donuts on the boardwalk and promenade cafe. Lunch can be the dog house, sorrentinos, park cafe, the solarium, dining room, etc. The park cafe had potato chips and sun chips for those who need their fix. We even meet the Captian in the park cafe one day.

 

We were in a Central Park balconey which was $980. We only spent $275 because we had $150 OBC. It was only that high because I bought a fossil watch for $65. We don't drink but we buy the soda card.

 

We enjoyed the shows and the ports. We are ready to get back on it.

[Cruising89143]

I think I have stepped foot in Windjammer 2x on a total of 4X on Oasis Class...never even ate in WJ once on Oasis Class....just so many other choices....you just need to think a bit differently on Oasis Class;)....people are to used to going to WJ for breakfast and lunch from the other classes.

 

I agree. Four times now between both ships and have only tried the WJ three times. Was not good but it wasn't good on the Freedom last year either. Too many other choices around the ship to head up to the WJ.

[Ocean Boy]

I think I have stepped foot in Windjammer 2x on a total of 4X on Oasis Class...never even ate in WJ once on Oasis Class....just so many other choices....you just need to think a bit differently on Oasis Class;)....people are to used to going to WJ for breakfast and lunch from the other classes.

 

People eat where they enjoy. What does the fact that you haven't eaten in the Windjammer in your past several cruises have to do with anything? I haven't stepped into the MDR in my past several cruises. I can't stand it in there. That hardly means that I don't understand that others love it in there and would never miss a meal in the MDR. Somehow, the Oasis class of ship having so many dining options makes it ok to have a poorly designed Windjammer? And when I think about it, I can only come up with two cruise fare included dining options for dinner that can't be found on a Freedom class ship... the Wipeout Cafe and the Central Park Cafe. That is not my idea of "so many other choices".

[pinkrosesdeb]

There is also the solarium cafe which we have never seen on any other class...and we loved it. Loved having it right there in the solarium.

[dfishner]

Did not find Oasis 50% more then RCL other cruises where did you get your fiqures from?

I am not sure if it is me but your review was very picky on minor things, but it is your review and your opinion just do not agree with what you listed.

[Beth C]

I also disagree - I feel the Oasis/Allure give you the most 'bang for your buck' considering all the entertainment options. I went on a significantly smaller ship after the Oasis and all I could think about was the concentration of people and having to hunt for 45 minutes for a deck chair, the mediocre entertainment and the lack of things to do.

 

The ports I agree are a bit blah - but in all honesty; I get off the ship, look around the pier area ~have a couple $1 beers~ and head back to the boat. The Oasis/Allure could pull out of Port Everglades & drive around in circles 5 miles away from land and i'd be happy :)

 

Even after 14 days on these ships i'm still amazed at the things I haven't seen/done yet and am planning a winter/spring 2012 on the Allure (which I prefer over the Oasis - power outlets on the desk, iPhone docks, Rita's, Samba Grill, leaves on a Sun rather than Sat since I fly in a day before)

 

As for the prices - I sailed the inaugural for both - Oasis was under $1500 (initially was almost $2k but had price drops) and Allure was only $749 for insides.

[bajathree]

People eat where they enjoy. What does the fact that you haven't eaten in the Windjammer in your past several cruises have to do with anything? I haven't stepped into the MDR in my past several cruises. I can't stand it in there. That hardly means that I don't understand that others love it in there and would never miss a meal in the MDR. Somehow, the Oasis class of ship having so many dining options makes it ok to have a poorly designed Windjammer? And when I think about it, I can only come up with two cruise fare included dining options for dinner that can't be found on a Freedom class ship... the Wipeout Cafe and the Central Park Cafe. That is not my idea of "so many other choices".

 

Never said they were all free options.....but more options available than any other ship. For free breakfast you have Park Cafe, Johnny Rockets and the Solarium....3 that aren't available on other ships....lunch you have Park Cafe again and also Solarium....again NOT available on other ships.....these were designed like this to take the load off Windjammer.