Help me decide - Indy vs. Allure

[clonegirl]

My husband and I are thinking about taking a family cruise over spring break 2014. Our crew includes 4 kids ages 9, 8, 5 and 9 months at time of the cruise.

 

We have our choices narrowed down to the Independence of the Seas or the Allure of the Seas based on our spring break dates, itinerary, infant splash pool and nursery availability. But now I'm stuck. We've been on Oasis before and absolutely loved it! However, we've never been on a Freedom class ship. Our only other RCCL cruise was on Adventure and we loved it as well. Below are some of the differences and my thoughts.

 

* Itinerary: Indy includes St Kitts (never been to), San Juan and Labadee. Allure includes Nassau (never been to either) and St Thomas. They both visit St Maarten. Both have 3 days at sea. We've stayed at San Juan pre-cruise before but never had it as a cruise stop.

 

* Indy is 8 nights vs. Allure is 7 nights

 

* Price: All over the board due to all the categories we're looking at but still comparable. Indy beats Allure but not by a lot when comparing like rooms.

 

* Cabin - We loved our Family stateroom with balcony on our Oasis cruise. However, it's the most expensive option here. Indy doesn't have that option but does has a family stateroom with oceanview that's just as large but missing the balcony. The Royal Family Suite with balcony on Indy is out of our price range. We also looked at connecting E1 balconies, a family promenade room on the Indy, and a family oceanview on both ships. We've had a balcony on our last 2 cruises. I love them, but it will make this trip much more expensive. We're not ready to have 2 children across the hall in an interior.

 

* We (and especially the kids) loved the boardwalk area and diving show on Allure. However, wondering if we'll miss it on Independence.

 

I'm leaning toward the Independence, but could use some advice. We loved the Oasis and I'm hesitant to try the Independence. But it seems to be a better fit with the extra nights and the itinerary. Thanks in advance! I really appreciate it!

[Daghis]

I loved Indy's 8-night itinerary, but I wasn't in love with the ship. Sure, she's fine and all, and I had a great time, but there were aspects that seemed a bit "odd" compared to other Caribbean cruises. One big thing that several of us on our sailing commented on was that it was disappointing that her Royal Promenade shops didn't sell that much in the way of souvenirs and logo items.

 

Given that you're bringing several kids, I'd give the nod to Allure which has a much broader array of activities for people of all ages. You're already familiar with how Oasis is, so you can judge whether that would be worth doing a similar ship again.

 

I will say again that Indy's itinerary was great, though. If you're sailing more for the ports than the ship, then I'd definitely go with that.

[hazeleyez3]

As far as the Independence goes, think of a larger Adventure with a seperate area for pizza (Sorrento's), surf simulators, and a kids water park.

 

If the kids hadn't been on the Oasis, I'd say do the Independence; however, since they now know about the boardwalk, dive shows, etc, I think the best bet would be the Allure.

[jbrezen]

We just came off Indy 8 day March 16th (hi Marc). We have cruised all the Freedom class ships, haven't done Oasis or Allure yet. My kids are now 15, 12, and 10. We picked this cruise because of the 8 days and weren't ready to pull the trigger on Oasis or Allure. We originally had booked an aft balcony with my 2 older kids in an interior across the hall, ended up changing it to the Royal Family Suite.

 

We had a ball and loved this cruise and the extra day, but having said that, my gut is, you would be happier sticking with Oasis class. You said your kids loved the Boardwalk area and the shows, they won't have that. The Royal Promenade is on Indy, but like Marc said, the shops were different than other Freedom class ships. For our family didn't make a difference, but the Promenade didn't have the WOW other ships do. They also didn't have the parades we remembered from our other cruises.

 

As far as cabin, you know there is a cabin category on Oasis that you like and works for your family. With a baby, the balcony is a nice escape during naps and early bedtime.

 

Either way, have fun!

[kruzerci]

Since you've been on Oasis, I would go with Indy since its longer and a better itinerary.

 

We were struggling between Independence and Oasis for our upcoming December cruise and ultimately went with Oasis, simply because we haven't tried this class of ship yet.

 

Enjoy whatever you pick! The Freedom class ships are fantastic!

[clonegirl]

Thanks for all of the responses so far!

 

Many have mentioned that they prefer the itinerary on the Indy. What is it that you prefer? Is it the extra night? The stop in Labadee? The stop in St. Kitts? I

 

I assume that we'll just visit beaches and have a fairly relaxed day in ports. I don't imagine we'll do many excursions with 4 kids, especially with one only being 9 months old. My parents may sail with us, so there's a chance that we'll leave the kids with them on the ship during one port day.

 

Thanks again!

[kruzerci]

I like the Independence itinerary better because it starts with back to back days at sea to relax, it has an extra day, and Labadee is a gorgeous place for a beach day.

 

We did the same itinerary on Liberty (less St. Kitts) and it was our absolute favorite cruise to date.

[Bizzie07]

Check out cabins 9696/9701 and 9396/9401 on Independence. One cabin is superior ocean view with balcony and the adjoining cabin is an interior. Hope this helps.

[Daghis]

Many have mentioned that they prefer the itinerary on the Indy. What is it that you prefer? Is it the extra night? The stop in Labadee? The stop in St. Kitts?

All of the above? :)

 

I liked that it was an 8-night cruise, so we'd get a bonus day for our cruise. I also liked that it included St. Kitts as I had never been there before, so it was exciting to have someplace new to visit.

 

I really like Labadee, so I was glad that this itinerary included there. We got a cabana and had a great day relaxing.

[clonegirl]

Check out cabins 9696/9701 and 9396/9401 on Independence. One cabin is superior ocean view with balcony and the adjoining cabin is an interior. Hope this helps.

 

Thanks for this tip. I'll check and see if they're available. Would be great to save a little money.

[Ocean Boy]

I loved Indy's 8-night itinerary, but I wasn't in love with the ship. Sure, she's fine and all, and I had a great time, but there were aspects that seemed a bit "odd" compared to other Caribbean cruises. One big thing that several of us on our sailing commented on was that it was disappointing that her Royal Promenade shops didn't sell that much in the way of souvenirs and logo items.

 

 

I will say again that Indy's itinerary was great, though. If you're sailing more for the ports than the ship, then I'd definitely go with that.

 

All of the above? :)

 

I liked that it was an 8-night cruise, so we'd get a bonus day for our cruise. I also liked that it included St. Kitts as I had never been there before, so it was exciting to have someplace new to visit.

 

I really like Labadee, so I was glad that this itinerary included there. We got a cabana and had a great day relaxing.

 

I agree with everything you said. As much as I like Indy's itinerary I'm going back to Allure next. If RCI would put Freedom or Liberty on the 8 nighter that Indy is doing I would gladly book again. I would even take a Voyager class ship. But I really don't want to go back on Indy. Though we had a great cruise, it had a very different feel from the first time we were on the ship.

[RCcruisinfamily]

for our next Spring Break.

I was able to get a saving certificate and a TA discount on our 6nt Indy cruise. It turned out to be a huge savings. We have done Freedom, Allure, and Oasis with the kids. I like some parts of Freedom class better, crowds, lines, ports. I really missed the boardwalk, aqua shows, etc. We will try Indy even though it doesn't have Dreamworks. But the kids have done Dreamworks 3 times now. We purchased 2 balcony rooms adj. With the Certificate and next cruise. It was a great deal.

 

Good luck! It will be fun! I am in huge withdrawal after just getting off Freedom a week ago. I need a summer getaway!

 

Kelly