Allure of the Seas vs. Regal Princess

[YSI]

Last week we came from back to back cruises on the Allure of the Seas and the Regal Princess. I think it will be interesting to compare our impressions according to our taste. The boarding process was flawless in both cases, and in both cases you need to wait aboard the ship until about 1 pm when rooms become available. We had The Central Park balcony on Allure, and outside balcony on the Regal. The room size seemed to be the same, while the balcony was much bigger on the Allure. Allure's cabin had enough power outlets for multiple chargers, while I found only two outlets on the Regal.

As far as the ship in a whole, Allure is more like a small city, while Regal is more like a cruise ship. To my taste, I liked Allure more. The Regal does not have stairs in the middle of the ship, and it’s too far to go to get the stairs (I try to avoid using lifts), while on the Allure the stairs are conveniently close to everywhere on the ship. With the new design, you cannot use the Promenade deck on the Regal (and its sister Royal) to go around the ship, as it was possible on all previous Princess Ships. On the Allure there is a walking/running track around the ship. Both ships charge to use the sauna.

All public areas were sparklingly clean on both ships, while the pool area was very clean on the Allure, but had a lot of garbage on the Regal. When we pointed out some garbage on the deck near the pool to an attendant on the Regal, he picked up some of it, but never came back for the rest.

At the same time, the Allure starts showing its age. We had our cabin reassigned during check-in as the original one required repairs. On the first night around 3am the toilet in the cabin stopped working (flushing). We were eventually told that the section of 5 floors got affected. They fixed the problem only after 10 am (over 7 hours without toilets in the cabin). I understand that these toilets can get clogged, but handling of the problem, communications, and decision not to start repairs before 9am in order not to disturb other passengers were done very unprofessionally.

Entertainment by far was better on the Royal Caribbean. Not just that their shows are much better, they also have multiple live bands playing simultaneously. The cruise director was outstanding, and The Love and Marriage show was one of the best we saw during our 30 cruises. Though we were pleasantly surprised with improved production shows quality on the Regal, they are still 30-35 minutes long, and you need to reserve your seats the same 30+ minutes in advance. The cruise director on the Regal was very dull, and he even delegated the marriage show to a deputy. The marriage show, which usually draws a huge crowd, was conducted in a very small Princess Live auditorium with very few seats, and a lot of people disappointingly walked away. For comparison, Allure's main theater was full for The Marriage show. There was never a slow moment on the Allure, the Royal Promenade was always full of action. On the Regal Princess there were very few activities even in the evening. It seemed like the only live band in the wheelhouse bar was spending more time for breaks than for actual performance. There were only two guest entertainers on the Regal, the comedian and tribute to the Four Seasons, both very good. On the other night they put a bar piano player in the Vista Lange as they didn't have guest entertainers.

Food. To our taste, it was much better on the Regal Princess, both in the main dining rooms and in buffets. Plentiful dishes, variety, and taste of buffet entries was astonishing on the Regal. On the Allure, one would have to go to different venues for different items, especially for breakfast. You go to one place for the omelet station, another one for pancakes, third one for bagels, etc. So if one family member wants eggs and another a bagel, you have to eat at different venues, or carry your food from one to another. On the Royal princess ALL breakfast items are in the same Horizon court. I never saw empty food trays on the Regal, but the empty trays were everywhere on the Allure. For many different dishes, they never refilled them once they were empty. During the last breakfast, the whole section of the buffet had only empty food trays.

We went to 150 Central Park and the Chops grill house on the Allure. The service in the 150 Central Park was superb, and experience of having food paired with wine was very memorable. As to food, the first four courses were just superb, while the last two were so-so. We had very bad experience at the Chops. I ordered medium rare filet mignon, but they brought me medium well. I saw that a couple at the next table had the same problem, so I ordered veal. It was properly done (temperature-wise), but I had to cut off about ¼ of an inch from the top as it was extremely over salted. At the Chops, they bring side dishes separately from the main entree, so when my veal arrived, all my side dishes brought with fillet mignon were already cold, but they were not replaced. Ditto for the silverware. I think that for the restaurant that charges $35 cover charge (on the top of what was already paid for the main restaurant) this type of service is absolutely unacceptable. By the way, the service in the main dining room on the Allure was excellent.

Though I spent too much time on negatives, both cruises were very good and I would highly recommend both of them. If I had to rate them (on a 10 point scale), I would give 9 to the Regal Princess and 8 to the Allure of the Seas.

Here are my ratings for different aspects of the cruise.

Allure Regal

Overall ship 10 8

Rooms 10 9

Public areas cleanliness 10 10

 

Pool area cleanliness 10 6

Main restaurant food 7 10

Buffet food 5 10

Pastries, desserts 3 10

Food variety 7 10

Main restaurant service 10 7

Cruise director 10 3

Production shows 10 8

Activities, bands 10 5

[JimmyVWine]

You say that in both instances you had to wait on board for your cabin to be readied for occupancy. This is not typical on Princess. They are usually ready the moment you board. Unless there has been some change in policy, I think you walked into a "one off" exception to the rule. I wonder what the problem was.

 

Otherwise...thanks for the thorough comparison.

[lovevacadays]

Thank you for the comparison. I enjoyed reading it.

 

In terms of choosing which for the overall cruising style it does seem like one would be choosing from either a resort type experience or a ship/cruise experience. I've read that on many other posts as well.

[TwoCruisers]

Last week we came from back to back cruises on the Allure of the Seas and the Regal Princess. . . Though we were pleasantly surprised with improved production shows quality on the Regal, they are still 30-35 minutes long, and you need to reserve your seats the same 30+ minutes in advance. . .

 

I’m going on the Royal Princess in a couple of weeks. I know the Royal and Regal Princess are sister ships, so I am wondering about what you said about reserving seats for the production shows. This has never been required on other Princess ships. Is this a new requirement for these two larger ships?

[Julia’s Journey’s]

I’m going on the Royal Princess in a couple of weeks. I know the Royal and Regal Princess are sister ships, so I am wondering about what you said about reserving seats for the production shows. This has never been required on other Princess ships. Is this a new requirement for these two larger ships?

 

 

You don't reserve seats I think he meant getting to the theatre 30 minutes in advance to get good seats.

[coo359a2]

You say that in both instances you had to wait on board for your cabin to be readied for occupancy. This is not typical on Princess. They are usually ready the moment you board. Unless there has been some change in policy, I think you walked into a "one off" exception to the rule. I wonder what the problem was.

 

Otherwise...thanks for the thorough comparison.

 

No change in policy. We have never waited for a cabin to be ready on a Princess ship. We were on the 25 Jan Regal and cabin was ready when we boarded.

Edited February 14, 2015 by coo359a2

[coo359a2]

I’m going on the Royal Princess in a couple of weeks. I know the Royal and Regal Princess are sister ships, so I am wondering about what you said about reserving seats for the production shows. This has never been required on other Princess ships. Is this a new requirement for these two larger ships?

 

Found that on the 25 Jan Regal cruise people started arriving an hour early. We usually are there 45 minutes before showtime to get our seats where we want them.

[janetz]

I’m going on the Royal Princess in a couple of weeks. I know the Royal and Regal Princess are sister ships, so I am wondering about what you said about reserving seats for the production shows. This has never been required on other Princess ships. Is this a new requirement for these two larger ships?

 

 

If you care where you sit, go early. You will have a great time.

The Royal is a stunning ship. Your cabin will be ready when you board.

We enjoyed our Allure and Oasis cruises. The entertainment is the best.

I have to say the food in the MDR on the Royal was excellent. Much better then on the Allure and Oasis. :)

[bluesea321]

You don't reserve seats I think he meant getting to the theatre 30 minutes in advance to get good seats.

 

That's right except for the good seats part, change good to just about any seat. I was on the Royal last month and it hardly seemed worth it to get there 30 minutes early for a 30 minute show. They now do 3 shows a night to handle the crowds, used to be much better when there were two shows a night lasting an hour or so each.

[yoyosma]

No change in policy. We have never waited for a cabin to be ready on a Princess ship. We were on the 25 Jan Regal and cabin was ready when we boarded.

 

I was on the Jan 18th Regal and we had to wait until 1pm for our cabin to be ready. My cabin steward thought the problem was due to turnover of cabin stewards. He said that there were 135 new ones. He was one of them. We moved cabins on Jan 25th and our new cabin was ready about 10AM.

[TorontoTL]

I'm surprised about the litter on the pool deck of the Regal. I'd be very disappointed with that and would have probably found a supervisor to ensure that the deck was kept clean. I'm sorry to hear that it was like that on your cruise.

[Mom33]

I'm surprised about the litter on the pool deck of the Regal. I'd be very disappointed with that and would have probably found a supervisor to ensure that the deck was kept clean. I'm sorry to hear that it was like that on your cruise.

 

I would wonder how long the litter was there. The crew didn't leave the mess.

They clean it when they see it or are made aware of it. I would never consider the ship having a cleaning problem.

 

OP, thanks for the comparison of the two ships. I would never have thought to compare them as one is a floating amusement park with a limited itinerary and one is a cruise ship traveling many itineraries.:)

[hpeabody]

You say that in both instances you had to wait on board for your cabin to be readied for occupancy. This is not typical on Princess. They are usually ready the moment you board. Unless there has been some change in policy, I think you walked into a "one off" exception to the rule. I wonder what the problem was.

 

Otherwise...thanks for the thorough comparison.

 

I recently cruised on the Regal (Jan 25th). I boarded between Noon and 12:30PM. I expected my cabin to be available to me as always. But ... NO, not on the Regal. I stepped out of the elevator (Emerald Deck 8) to closed doors with a sign that says the cabins will be available after 1PM. Different rules on different ships, I guess.

Edited February 15, 2015 by hpeabody

[YSI]

no, there is no requirement to reserve. it's just if you are not in the theater 3o minutes prior to the show, you might not get any seats. On the Allure you can make a prior reservation

[YSI]

they started boarding around noon, but the cabins were not ready till 1pm

[maggieq]

Thank you for sharing that. As you can see rccl and oasis class are near and dear to our hearts. However, our golden princess cruise was what got my fiancé and I hooked in cruising. We have thought about going back to princess. I thought the 3 nighter in the regal would be perfect. Still thinking about it

[Chesie]

We were on the Regal 1/25. We were in our room to drop bags at 12:05 then went to the restaurant for a sit down lunch. This is the first time we booked a cruise for the ship and not the ports. We only went to a couple shows but everyone seemed to arrive early for the seats they wanted. Never felt we were crowed in any way on the Regal. Walk/run track up top was not crowded. We did traditional dining so no wait there. We haven't cruised on rccl in awhile so I can not give an opinion on Allure. However, these are two completely different styles of cruising, IMHO.

[janetz]

Thank you for sharing that. As you can see rccl and oasis class are near and dear to our hearts. However, our golden princess cruise was what got my fiancé and I hooked in cruising. We have thought about going back to princess. I thought the 3 nighter in the regal would be perfect. Still thinking about it

 

There is a repositioning cruise on the Regal from NY to Fort Lauderdale at the end of Oct. 10 days. We did it on the Royal last Oct. Wonderful cruise! :D

[Bruin Steve]

IMHO, it is near impossible to compare ANY other cruise ship to the Allure...

I think the other cruise lines just threw up their hands and refused to even try...

 

It is NOT an ordinary cruise ship:

Broadway musicals...

Cirque d' Soleil type water acrobatics and high diving shows...

World class figure skating shows...

Surfing

Body boarding

Rock climbing

Zip lining

Carousel

...and on and on...and on...

The one recurring negative I hear--but only from people who havre never cruised on Allure--is that it's too big and too many people...

But, truth be told, the space per passenger ratios are very good...The ship is incredibly spacious and well laid out...it is very easy to get around...

[janetz]

The big girls are destinations on their own. The shows are the best at sea. Rarely do you see a negative review of these ships. :D

Edited February 16, 2015 by janetz

[JimmyVWine]

 

It is NOT an ordinary cruise ship:

Broadway musicals...

Cirque d' Soleil type water acrobatics and high diving shows...

World class figure skating shows...

Surfing

Body boarding

Rock climbing

Zip lining

Carousel

...and on and on...and on...

I wouldn't say that this design is a "drop the microphone.....walk off the stage" be all and end all. It definitely appeals to many, but not to all. Nothing that you listed above is the least bit interesting to me when I take a cruise. Not all of my vacations are cruises. In fact, only a small minority are. I might do some of the above on land-based, resort vacations. But when I take a cruise, I don't want any of that and in fact, actively seek to avoid it. So I sure hope that other cruise lines haven't stopped trying to compete.

Edited February 16, 2015 by JimmyVWine

[Bruin Steve]

I wouldn't say that this design is a "drop the microphone.....walk off the stage" be all and end all. It definitely appeals to many, but not to all. Nothing that you listed above is the least bit interesting to me when I take a cruise. Not all of my vacations are cruises. In fact, only a small minority are. I might do some of the above on land-based, resort vacations. But when I take a cruise, I don't want any of that and in fact, actively seek to avoid it. So I sure hope that other cruise lines haven't stopped trying to compete.

 

I don't think you got my point.

 

I never said it was the ideal ship for everyone...

We all have different criteria, different standards, different desires.

I didn't mean other lines gave up competing for YOUR dollar...

I meant they stopped competing in terms of the spectacular amenities they can load on a ship...

 

All of those amenities are probably not aimed at YOU...

 

But they are such that it makes it hard to compare with other ships...

[JimmyVWine]

I meant they stopped competing in terms of the spectacular amenities they can load on a ship...

I guess I am missing your point. To suggest that other cruise lines stopped competing with Allure in terms of "spectacular amenities" implies that on some level, they wanted to but had to bow out. Inherent in your assertion is a desire to compete but an inability to do so. If there is a point in your assertion, it is that other cruise lines that wanted to build floating playgrounds have met their match. I just don't know who those other cruise lines would be. RCCL is really only in competition with itself in that market. I don't think Princess ever was or wanted to be.

[dmwnc1959]

IMHO, it is near impossible to compare ANY other cruise ship to the Allure...AGREED

 

I think the other cruise lines just threw up their hands and refused to even try...Not so much, see reply to JimmyVWine

 

It is NOT an ordinary cruise ship:

Broadway musicals...

Cirque d' Soleil type water acrobatics and high diving shows Did not watch these...

World class figure skating shows...Did not watch these

Surfing Did not use

Body boarding Did not use

Rock climbing Did not use

Zip lining Did not use

Carousel Did not use

...and on and on...and on...

 

The one recurring negative I hear--but only from people who havre never cruised on Allure--is that it's too big and too many people...

But, truth be told, the space per passenger ratios are very good...The ship is incredibly spacious and well laid out...it is very easy to get around...

 

 

The Oasis-class can offer much of that simply because of the sheer size of the vessel, and are built so because of the demographic these ships (and the cruise line itself) are aimed at.

 

And although I ended up really enjoying my cruise aboard Allure of the Seas, I really don't think, that if it came down to it, I would cruise on that class of ship again. As you can see above, most of the things you've listed I did not use or see, but I did enjoy the fine dining experiences, walking through Central Park, and some of the entertainment (Comedy Club, "Chicago").

 

 

 

I guess I am missing your point. To suggest that other cruise lines stopped competing with Allure in terms of "spectacular amenities" implies that on some level, they wanted to but had to bow out. Inherent in your assertion is a desire to compete but an inability to do so. If there is a point in your assertion, it is that other cruise lines that wanted to build floating playgrounds have met their match. I just don't know who those other cruise lines would be. RCCL is really only in competition with itself in that market.

 

I don't think Princess ever was or wanted to be.

 

 

Spot on. I think too, that Norwegian Cruise Line and Carnival Cruise Line have really upped their game in the "floating amusement park" themed ship, but are still no real "match" for what the Oasis-class offers, and they know that, but do their best with the real estate they have.

 

Princess Cruises knows their limitations, and knows they can't truly compete. And they don't want to. I think the fountain shows on the Royal-class are about as close to "out of the box" as Princess Cruises is going to go. They remain classy, while offering "something" a little different. But we'll never see the extent of amusement park offerings that we see on CCL and NCL.

 

:D

Edited February 16, 2015 by dmwnc1959

[Julia’s Journey’s]

The Oasis-class can offer much of that simply because of the sheer size of the vessel, and are built so because of the demographic these ships (and the cruise line itself) are aimed at.

 

And although I ended up really enjoying my cruise aboard Allure of the Seas, I really don't think, that if it came down to it, I would cruise on that class of ship again. As you can see above, most of the things you've listed I did not use or see, but I did enjoy the fine dining experiences, walking through Central Park, and some of the entertainment (Comedy Club, "Chicago").

 

 

Princess Cruises knows their limitations, and knows they can't truly compete. And they don't want to. I think the fountain shows on the Royal-class are about as close to "out of the box" as Princess Cruises is going to go. They remain classy, while offering "something" a little different. But we'll never see the extent of amusement park offerings that we see on CCL and NCL.

 

:D

 

 

We went on Oasis because I wanted to try the ship, not our favorite ships, barely anywhere to feel like you are at sea, everywhere was crowded when it wasn't sunny and warm and service was not at Princess standard.

I did enjoy Central Park and the shows but didn't like having to prebook them and dinners etc.

It wouldn't be my first choice especially with the itineraries they offer.

I am booked on VOS next month for the pure reason I didn't want to drive to FLL twice in a month otherwise Princess would have gotten both bookings.