Oasis Vs. Allure... I don't get it

[Duke Mazer]

DW thinks we should switch from Oasis to Allure. I see a consistent $100-$150 premium to sail of the Allure. Once Allure is post dry dock, I don't see what the differences are:

Sambra grill vs. Solarium bistro (Don't care)

Cats vs. Mama Mia (Walked out on cats so yeah, but $150/person for mama mia.... don't know about that)

Saturday vs. Sunday departure. (Prefer Saturday as it allows us to unpack and relax on Sunday before going back to work, instead of a busy travel day)

Allure is 2in bigger (Don't have envy issues)

Oasis is 10 months older (So what)

 

On our sailing we could end up paying an extra $450 for the 3 of us and I can't find a reason to justify the extra cost. Am I crazy? Am I missing something?

[Clarea]

I don't think you are missing anything. Maybe there's more demand for a Sunday departure.

[soccerdad72]

Are they the same route? If so, then yeah, the only thing I can think of is that Sunday departures are more popular.

[Clarea]

Are they the same route? If so, then yeah, the only thing I can think of is that Sunday departures are more popular.

Yes, same itineraries.

[niksmom630]

DW thinks we should switch from Oasis to Allure. I see a consistent $100-$150 premium to sail of the Allure. Once Allure is post dry dock, I don't see what the differences are:

Sambra grill vs. Solarium bistro (Don't care)

Cats vs. Mama Mia (Walked out on cats so yeah, but $150/person for mama mia.... don't know about that)

Saturday vs. Sunday departure. (Prefer Saturday as it allows us to unpack and relax on Sunday before going back to work, instead of a busy travel day)

Allure is 2in bigger (Don't have envy issues)

Oasis is 10 months older (So what)

 

On our sailing we could end up paying an extra $450 for the 3 of us and I can't find a reason to justify the extra cost. Am I crazy? Am I missing something?

 

 

I've been on both, and did Allure first. I can't really think of a single thing that was different between the two that would justify the extra cost. One of the reasons I booked Oasis the second time around

 

 

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[Starry Eyes]

Are they the same route? If so, then yeah, the only thing I can think of is that Sunday departures are more popular.

 

They alternate the same eastern and western Caribbean itineraries. So one week Oasis is doing eastern while Allure is doing western, the next week Oasis is doing western while Allure is doing eastern.

 

In general, eastern usually seems to get a little higher average price than western on same ship.

 

For those who work Monday through Friday and like to fly in a day ahead, they likely need 6 vacation days for a Saturday sailing (miss work to fly on Friday) and 5 vacation days for Sunday sailing.

[mmn531]

I have been on both. They both offer great cruises and both had equal staffs. As already mentioned, departure date might be the biggest thing to work from. Whatever fits your life best.

 

No matter, you will have a good time!

[OCruisers]

Unless having a Sunday departure is of importance, there is really no other good reason .... Am I also missing something? :confused:

LuLu

[LuCruise]

I think maybe a few of the daytime shows are different too? e.g. Oasis has some Frozen in Time ice show that Allure doesn't.

 

We selected Allure purely solely based on the itinerary we preferred for the week we wanted to go (i.e. Eastern vs Western). Am glad now though as I prefer the Broadway show on Allure. But I wouldn't think it's worth switching to for that.

 

We also prefer a Sunday cruise as that means we can fly in the day before without having to take another day off work/school.

Edited March 5, 2015 by LuCruise

[snorkelman]

I have been on the Oasis twice and Allure 4 times. We live in Florida and I recently booked the Oasis again, as it will be post-drydock and "newer" than the pre-drydock Alllure when we cruise in October 2015. That being said, I don't see any difference at this point to justify any difference in price. Sure, the first year or two, but not now.

Edited March 5, 2015 by snorkelman

[Big_G]

The only reason I can see is happy wife, happy life. ;)

[sailor05]

I definitely think the Sunday departure appeals more to people who are trying to do a cruise while only using 1 week of vacation. For a Saturday departure you would probably have to take Friday off to fly in the night before which would require 6 days of vacation unless you can find a late flight on Friday.

 

Plus I think the Allure gets more attention because it is the newest and "biggest" ship in the world. Maybe that will all change when Harmony set sail:D

[angelhelly]

I definitely think the Sunday departure appeals more to people who are trying to do a cruise while only using 1 week of vacation. For a Saturday departure you would probably have to take Friday off to fly in the night before which would require 6 days of vacation unless you can find a late flight on Friday.

 

Plus I think the Allure gets more attention because it is the newest and "biggest" ship in the world. Maybe that will all change when Harmony set sail:D

 

I agree with the Sunday departure. That is so much convenient when you fly in! And usually Saturday flights are cheaper too. That is the only reason why we picked the Allure over Oasis for our Jan 2015 cruise.

 

We are doing 2 cruise during Christmas time, a 6 day on the Navigator followed by a 7 day on the Oasis, so we will be cruising Sunday to Saturday so we get the extra day to fly in and the extra day to relax and unpack before work.

[Llmtax2000]

The concierge lounge and dining experience for suite and pinnacle passengers is very different on Oasis than on Allure

[nelblu]

I've sailed both and not much difference. We liked Allure a tad because of Rita's Cantina and the doughnut shop. LOL Sadly, I understand both no longer are available.

 

I've got 2 cruises on Oasis coming up and the primary reason is the Saturday departure/arrival as I get not sea sick, but land sickness and useless the next day.

[maggieq]

We like Saturday to Saturday cruises and have always found oasis cheaper most of the time. However, I like the entertainment better on allure.

[JamesEM]

I have been on both, thought the staff and service was better on the Oasis.

[Starry Eyes]

The concierge lounge and dining experience for suite and pinnacle passengers is very different on Oasis than on Allure

 

At the start, the OP mentioned they are looking at time when Allure will be post dry dock. So, by the suite and Pinnacle experience might be similar on the two ships. What Allure will feature post dry dock is rather speculative at this point.

[BND]

Sunday departure is the only reason we picked Allure over Oasis since we take the Auto Train and had to drive from Sanford to FFL, we gave ourselves an extra day and arrived in FLL on Saturday. We're looking forward to Oasis coming to PC.

Edited March 6, 2015 by BND

[trev71]

personally i would just stay with the Oasis. Unless the Allure route is the route you really want to do.

[Duke Mazer]

Sticking with Oasis. Thanks for all the input but seems it's like I thought.

 

Honestly, I don't mind leaving work early on Friday taking an late afternoon flight but then being home on Sunday. I a travelling experience with a delayed flight that got have me flying overnight landing at 6:30am and in the office by 9am, so I always try to book a vacations that leave me the Sunday to relax and unpack. That's my preference. I would love to see Mama mia over Cats but I've seen it before and certainly not going to spend $450 extra for it.

 

Now when Harmony comes out, I'm fairly certain I will pay the premium to sail it as it will have differences that would attract us.

 

Happy sailing

[Bookish Angel]

I have been on both, thought the staff and service was better on the Oasis.

 

Also, the art on Oasis was more to my liking than that on Allure.

[Booking It]

Two reasons for me why I only considered the Allure over Oasis (twice!).

 

1. Sunday departure. Both Allure cruises were during school breaks (I'm a teacher). I am not allowed to take the Friday before a break off or leave early that day, so we either have to fly out late Friday night or early Saturday. We traveled during winter/early spring where the weather in Chicago is very unpredictable. I would have been way too nervous to have to be in port on Saturday at noon knowing that our only flight options are the last flight to Ft. Lauderdale on a Friday night or very early Saturday morning.

 

2. I wanted the absolute newest ship possible. Some people don't care about that, but I do. We're saving for a house right now, but our next cruise will probably either be on the Anthem of the Seas or Harmony of the Seas. We sail for the ship over the itinerary.

[SparkleBee]

I had the same question and was told they are basically the same except for Cats vs. MM. I ended up booking Allure. the cost difference was only $100 more total and it fit my schedule better.

[shipshape sam]

A few things come to mind:

 

1) individual schedules overlaying with specific week itineraries. In past I had to sail on a particular week due to work travel.

 

2) Saturday vs Sunday departure. We like Sundays in general so we can arrive a day early and not take off another work day.

 

3) small things on ship! We chose Allure for Samba's and a couple of other minor changes (most surrounding food/drink). Allure also changed from seafood shack to Mexican themed restaurant across from Johnny Rockets. I think Allure also had initially Starbucks too! We sailed December 2010.

 

4) We were booked on her maiden cruise(Western Caribbean) and switched to 2nd full 7 day sailing so we could sail Eastern Caribbean. We did pay a little more.

 

However people choose, they know what the demand is and price it based on supply and demand.