Breeze or Allure?

[LoveVakays]

Hello all, so we're booked on the Allure but now are reconsidering whether the Breeze is a better option for us. We're a family of 4 with two small boys, ages 2.5 and 4 at the time of sailing. As a family we've only done CCL and my 3yo loves Camp Carnival (other son has been too young to partake). In the past we've been on an older RCL ship (Majesty) and a few NCL ships. We're no-frills, not demanding, just want a nice relaxing trip for this family. But we do love to be wowed.

 

Allure - interior family promenade is $2355 for 7 nights to Labadee, Falmouth and Cozumel

 

Breeze - basic interior is $1736 and oceanview deluxe is $2036 for 6 nights to Grand Cayman, Ochos Rios and Cozumel (prob will go with basic Interior if on CCL)

 

Pros for Allure - brand new spanking ship with all the bells and whistles, kid's sail free promo makes it doable for us; Cons - we're prob going to spend more money onboard, no free kid's club for the 2.5yo but will have to do paid nursery and boys won't be in the same "nursery/club".

 

Pros for Breeze - new CCL ship with updated features, boys will be in the same kids club, familiarity with CCL, prob. will spend less $, love Grand Cayman; Cons - smaller cabin category, not as many bells and whistles, there might not be another kids' sail free promo in the near future that would make the Allure doable for us.

 

Btw, based on past experience, the 4yo will be in the kid's club for 2 or so hours during the day and 2 or so hours in the evenings depending on the club's activities and where we're dining. :p While I prefer both boys to be in same club, it's not a must bc the younger one is currently away from his older brother at daycare so he'll adjust.

 

Any thoughts - thanks!

[k2excursion]

That is a tough one. The Allure wins over the Breeze in a landslide, but for you, it might be better to go with the Breeze. The shows on Breeze are quite sad, while Allure's entertainment is great. Breeze does have a great waterpark. Your kids might be too short to go on the big slides, but there are other things they can play on there. I thought at first that this would be an easy suggestion: Allure all the way, no doubt, especially with the extra day. But based on what you said, with me not realizing that you have to pay for the kids club, that makes it tougher.

 

You may know this from past Carnival experience, but Breeze's interior rooms are very very small, about 150 sq.ft. in reality, despite what they claim to be. If you keep the lower beds together, the upper bunks will be partially over the lower beds, and the only good way out of bed is to slither out a small opening at the foot of the bed. I would recommend to splurge on the deluxe OV. Nothing will be above the lower beds, plus you'll have an extra half-bathroom. The kids will be on a sofa bed & upper bunk above the sofa. I just did a deluxe OV on a sister ship, and I loved it!

Edited March 13, 2014 by k2excursion

[Tapi]

We took our (then) 17 month old son on the Allure and I can tell you that it was, without a doubt, the absolute BEST cruise we've ever taken as a family. We also did the Carnival Dream that same year and the experience, while nice, wasn't even close to what the Allure had to offer. There's just so much more for the entire family on the Allure. The offerings on the Dream just paled in comparison.

 

On the Allure, in addition to the wonderful facilities at Adventure. Ocean and the Royal Babies and Tots Nursery, you will also have:

 

- A dedicated pool area, SPECIFICALLY for small children, with temperature controlled and separately filtered pools, water park and spray area, and even kids sized loungers surrounding the pool area. Makes it much easier to enjoy the pool deck with small children.

 

- The Dreamworks Experience, with parades down the Royal Promenade, featuring characters from Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, and Shrek. You can also enjoy breakfast at the MDR with the characters on select morning.

 

- Shows at the Aqua Theater and the Ice Rink, specifically for Kids, including the How to Train your Dragon ice show, Madagascar's show at the Aqua Theater, and the Sailaway party. You know that it's going to be an entertaining cruise for the kids when the first thing you see on the big screens during sailaway are the Madagascar penguins with a rope tied around the Captain and (supposedly) commandeering the ship as it departs Port Everglades, with music playing and characters performing.

 

- A full sized, hand carved carousel in the middle of the Boardwalk. It's free of charge, so you can ride unlimited times. I can't tell you how many times we rode that thing during our cruise!

 

- Family activities on the Boardwalk, including face painting, dancing, and other activities.

 

- A dedicated Adventure Ocean TV channel in your cabin, which can be a life saver during down time and when you're trying to keep the kids entertained while in your cabin.

 

- Fisher-Price and Crayola sponsored activities, both for the families and for kids only.

 

- A dedicated free-play area for families accessible all day long where you can watch your kids play with toys, run free, read books, and just be kids (on the Dream, we had to find an empty lounge, and bring our own toys, in order to let our son have some time to play freely and run around in a contained area).

 

- LABADEE - Since your itinerary is sailing there, you may want to know that there's also a dedicated Adventure Ocean water park in Labadee which our son loved. The park is accessible for both families as well as kids on Adventure Ocean sponsored activities.

 

All of this in addition to the countless activities for adults which do leave all entertainment on Carnival in the dust. There's just NO comparison.

 

These are just some of the things that come to mind right now. What Carnival offers for families with small kids is unfortunately a fraction of what the Allure offers. You won't find most of what's mentioned above on Carnival, period.

 

One last thing, your price comparison is for a Family Promenade stateroom on the Allure vs a a standard interior stateroom on the Breeze which explains the price difference. If pricing is a consideration, how does a standard interior on the Allure compare to a similar stateroom on the Breeze? Just to compare apples to apples. IMHO, I would downgrade the cabin category in order to sail on the Allure before I choose the Breeze if price is a consideration. We had a Boardwalk View stateroom with a window (BV) on the Allure and a Balcony stateroom (6B) on the Dream. While the stateroom on the Dream was superior to the one on the Allure in so many ways, I would still pick the lesser stateroom on the Allure. It's worth it! :)

 

Feel free to read my reviews for both cruises (links in my signature).

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Edited March 13, 2014 by Tapi

[fergusonvt]

We did our first CCL cruise last year on the Valor and our first RCI this year on the Independence of the Seas. While the IOS was newer or around the same age and much bigger than the Valor we actually enjoyed our CCL cruise more and it was about $1000 less for a very similar cabin. I know the Allure is their newest ship (right now) and we will probably take another RCI cruise at some time in the future I think I'd go with the Breeze. As for the ports they are pretty similar. I actually didn't care much for Labadee. Unless you booked one of their $250.00 cabanas it was a mad rush to find a place in the shade. The beach for the suite and frequent RCI cruisers was much nicer than the others and the smallish beach with the cabanas had no shade. All the other beaches had lots of rocks you had to deal with to swim. Beautiful place but not my favorite by a long shot.

[MrLacox]

I cruised on both.

 

Ill try to keep it short & simple.

 

State rooms - Had junior suites. I found the Allure roomier. This could have been due to the Breeze furniture layout.

 

Shows- This is a no brainer and the topic has been discussed to boredom.

 

Food - I dined at MDR and specialty restaurants on both. Allure beats Breeze in quality and selections.

 

Service level- Excellent on both.

 

Maintenance - Both vessels where at top shape at the time.

 

Pools & whirlpools - Allure has better choices and temp control.

 

Ice Rink - Unique to Allure.

 

Private Island - Allure has Labadee.No PI stop on the Breeze.

 

Em/ debarkation process - Fast and very well organized on both.

 

Other venues such as casinos , bars, and kid camps an pretty much similar on both ships.

 

IMHO, Even though the Allure outweighs the Breeze, the former has the waterslides, Sea side BBQ, 4D cinema and Tandoor which are unique to CCL.

[CatlinSTJ]

We had the same debate, and it really came down to price for us as traveling with 5 on the Allure or Oasis was ridiculously expensive in comparison. As far as experiences, have you tried watching any of the videos on YouTube to see what things are like and if it seems like a good fit for your family? One of the best bits of advice we heard when we first started cruising was to look at the people in the ads. Do they look like people you would want to hang out with? Are they doing things you would like to do? Now we have YouTube and Cruise Critic and other online resources. Look at pics and videos and see which ship and amenities make you feel like you want to be there, doing that. Having more stuff or fancier options doesn't mean anything if you wouldn't use it anyway :)

 

 

Next cruise: Carnival Breeze June 2014

Edited March 13, 2014 by CatlinSTJ

[mrpayroll]

If your kids were older would say Allure hands down. Being the age they are, they can't do some of the things on Allure { flow rider, zip line }. in this situation i would go with Breeze and wait till they are older and then go Allure. We Loved it, but kids are grown.

[LoveVakays]

Thanks to all for your great feedback! It really did help with making a decision, yeah we were back and forth and vowed not to even think of any of the Behemoth of the Seas ships until kids were older so that everyone could fully enjoy the amenities onboard.

 

I think given the awesome deal with kid's sail free and all those extras that *TAPI* pointed out, we'll stick with the ALLURE. I'll just cut back on the online shopping this year to save up for all those extra costs with RCL. :D

[Tapi]

...given the awesome deal with kid's sail free and all those extras that *TAPI* pointed out, we'll stick with the ALLURE. :D

 

 

Glad my feedback was helpful in your decision. Normally I don't like to say "trust me, you'll love it" because I know that everybody is different, but with the Allure I do make an exception. Trust me, you'll love it! :D

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[kyle2007marist]

Well I have actually been on both ships. I also have a family with 2 younger boys and they love both kids programs. I think they actually had more fun on the Breeze though as they liked the pools and water slides better. Carnival seems to have the best value for the money and I like the food better also. Guys burger joint is one of my favorites on the Breeze. We actually booked our second trip on the Breeze just as a couple and are staying in Cabin 2450 and wondering if anyone else stayed here yet.

[riclop]

There is no comparison, ALLURE.

[ATHENA3]

Carnival has nothing to compare to the Oasis class ships. You and your family will enjoy a cruise on the Allure.

[Cruisegirl6]

You can't compare Carnival and RC, its RC all the way!!

 

If your planning on going on another cruise or two then the Breeze is fine but if its your main vacation/cruise definitely choose the Allure.