Is Bigger Better??

[Lovincruisin1321]

I was so excited to try one of the mega ships but now I am thinking of canceling my 2016 voyage on the Allure.

 

It just appears to be a floating Amusement Park. Kind of turned off.

 

Kind of sad :(

[FlyStef]

What changed your mind?

[Janet524]

I was so excited to try one of the mega ships but now I am thinking of canceling my 2016 voyage on the Allure.

 

It just appears to be a floating Amusement Park. Kind of turned off.

 

Kind of sad :(

 

I would reconsider. We are seasoned cruisers and had concerns when we booked Oasis the first time. We wanted to cruise on Oasis just to experience her and frankly our expectations were not high...Too many people, too crowded, you know the issues. We were pleasantly surprised, and enjoyed the cruise so much that we have now sailed Oasis three times and Allure five times.

 

If nothing else, the entertainment onboard is exceptional. The Aqua Theater show - diving, synchronized swimming, aerials, acrobatics - is fantastic. The production of Chicago in the main theater on Allure, while an abbreviated version, was very well done. IMO the best show was Green Planet in the main theater.

 

IMO, there is much more to Allure than the Boardwalk area carousel and "amusement park" atmosphere. It is really worth a try. I think you'll be surprised.

[blueblock]

It's a matter of personal preference. I cruise mostly in Europe, view the ship as a vehicle to get from port to port, and don't have much interest in the bells and whistles of large ships. Other people travel more for the ships than the ports, and the large ships offer extra amenities that they want. I say try it and judge for yourself.

[Langley Cruisers]

You will get various opinions in this thread. Some love, some do not. Some will sail a mega-ship again in a heartbeat, some will not. Some felt crowded onboard, some did not.

 

My opinion doesn't matter. This is your decision. :)

 

.

[Clarea]

I was so excited to try one of the mega ships but now I am thinking of canceling my 2016 voyage on the Allure.

 

It just appears to be a floating Amusement Park. Kind of turned off.

 

Kind of sad :(

I would at least give it a try so you can decide for yourself.

[PompeySailor]

We have also not yet done the Mega class, but will be doing so in 2016.

All I will offer as it is ultimately your decision.

 

Better to have tried it, than later regretting not having done so.:)

That is our philosophy;)

 

Enjoy which ever choice you make.

Happy Days!

[alfaeric]

I was so excited to try one of the mega ships but now I am thinking of canceling my 2016 voyage on the Allure.

 

It just appears to be a floating Amusement Park. Kind of turned off.

 

Kind of sad :(

 

 

Why is it sad?

 

All you did was change your opinion from agreeing with people who would try it to the ones who hate it. Ship didn't change at all- its been that way since 2009.

 

I'd say it's sad that you would not generate your own opinion based on your experience. But that's just me.

[jndsilver31]

DW and I were on the Allure last September. Yes, it is big and yes there are nearly 6000 people, but it never did seem crowded. And yes there is so much to do that you wont have enough days to do it all.

 

We are booked for the Oasis for Sept. 2016.

 

Try it and then form your own opinion.

 

Jack

 

P.S. try the zip line.

[7leagueboots]

It's a matter of personal preference. I cruise mostly in Europe, view the ship as a vehicle to get from port to port, and don't have much interest in the bells and whistles of large ships. Other people travel more for the ships than the ports, and the large ships offer extra amenities that they want. I say try it and judge for yourself.

 

Exactly...whatever floats your boat.

[novalab]

DD & I sailed Allure last April. It was our BEST cruise to date! We loved the Oasis class so much that we decided to book Allure's sister for 2016. Since we sailed in April, after Spring Break was over for most of the country, we did not experience crowds or long waits for the elevators (we also like to walk off calories so we did utilize the stairs quite a bit). The only problem that we had with this class of ship was the frustration we felt when we realized 7 days would not be enough to experience all she had to offer:rolleyes: That's one of the reasons that we are doing a repeat cruise. Only this time on Oasis.:D BTW, back when this class of ship was first introduced, we both said we would pass on the 'floating resort'. Glad we gave it a try.

Edited April 2, 2015 by novalab

[Lovincruisin1321]

What changed your mind?

 

 

I have been reading a very detailed cruise review with day by day pictures. Literally sailing along. It just has more of a Universal Studio environment.

[Lovincruisin1321]

I would reconsider. We are seasoned cruisers and had concerns when we booked Oasis the first time. We wanted to cruise on Oasis just to experience her and frankly our expectations were not high...Too many people, too crowded, you know the issues. We were pleasantly surprised, and enjoyed the cruise so much that we have now sailed Oasis three times and Allure five times.

 

If nothing else, the entertainment onboard is exceptional. The Aqua Theater show - diving, synchronized swimming, aerials, acrobatics - is fantastic. The production of Chicago in the main theater on Allure, while an abbreviated version, was very well done. IMO the best show was Green Planet in the main theater.

 

IMO, there is much more to Allure than the Boardwalk area carousel and "amusement park" atmosphere. It is really worth a try. I think you'll be surprised.

 

Thank you. Your feedback is helpful. I have been surfing all the itineraries and deals on RCL and couldn't find anything as good as we booked. I may take your advice and just try it.

[Lovincruisin1321]

It's a matter of personal preference. I cruise mostly in Europe, view the ship as a vehicle to get from port to port, and don't have much interest in the bells and whistles of large ships. Other people travel more for the ships than the ports, and the large ships offer extra amenities that they want. I say try it and judge for yourself.

 

Very true! My husband and I also cruise for the itinerary as you see in my profile. This is the first time we opted for the ship.

[EGG]

We were booked on Queen Elizabeth (Europe) and the cruise was cancelled about 3 weeks out for propulsion repairs. As a replacement cruise DH suggested taking that mega ship that I always talked about. He was not too excited about it, but we did not have a lot of time to plan. Well, we loved the ship. We had a blast and we are in our 60s. We will consider going on the ship again, although we usually cruise for the ports and the big ship ports are not the greatest.

[Lovincruisin1321]

Why is it sad?

 

All you did was change your opinion from agreeing with people who would try it to the ones who hate it. Ship didn't change at all- its been that way since 2009.

 

I'd say it's sad that you would not generate your own opinion based on your experience. But that's just me.

 

Sad because I made the mistake of building up my excitement and then I absorbed myself in a detailed review with a massive amount of pictures. What I fail to remind myself is this was from the perspective of a family with boys and what they did. We're just a couple, early 50's but love fun and younger crowd, just not the constant Disney/Universal environment. Perhaps there is more I haven't seen.

 

Those expectations get me every time!:eek:

[Lovincruisin1321]

DW and I were on the Allure last September. Yes, it is big and yes there are nearly 6000 people, but it never did seem crowded. And yes there is so much to do that you wont have enough days to do it all.

 

We are booked for the Oasis for Sept. 2016.

 

Try it and then form your own opinion.

 

Jack

 

P.S. try the zip line.

 

Thank you! Question/Concern: Another factor I'm worried about is the crowds to see shows. I keep reading that you have to make reservations but RCL website won't allow you to do that ahead of time. I have to do it on the ship via stateroom tv? I just don't want the hassle of stressing of running to a show early to get a seat or not reserving early enough and getting a bad seat.

 

Advise? How did you handle this?

[alfaeric]

Sad because I made the mistake of building up my excitement and then I absorbed myself in a detailed review with a massive amount of pictures. What I fail to remind myself is this was from the perspective of a family with boys and what they did. We're just a couple, early 50's but love fun and younger crowd, just not the constant Disney/Universal environment. Perhaps there is more I haven't seen.

 

Those expectations get me every time!:eek:

 

 

Ok. Good luck with that.

 

We'll have a great time in your place- would jump on the Allure or Oasis (or Harmony now) in an instant, if it fit our schedules. Two of us, just a few years behind you.

[George C]

The only thing I have against the newer larger cruise ships is they seem to cost more than the smaller older ships. I would rather have a suite of Navigator than a balcony on Oasis, but the larger the ship the more entertainment options and a larger choice of restaurants to choose.

[DDFla]

Don't cancel! Two first for me, RCI and Allure of the seas last week. Both better than I expected. RCI does a great job moving the larger crowds and the ships layout helps. Unlike what I've read, Windjammer was not over crowded from my experiences elsewhere, service was better than expected on such a large ship, my time dining waits, other than the first night, were minimal. Other than the entertainment access, no worse than anything I've been on. All that said, I really didn't find that great of a difference in the overall quality of my cruise with the exception of the ship. Allure and Oasis are in a class all on their own. would I go again? Sure! But not sold on one line being that much better than an other.

[Imalinata]

Thank you! Question/Concern: Another factor I'm worried about is the crowds to see shows. I keep reading that you have to make reservations but RCL website won't allow you to do that ahead of time. I have to do it on the ship via stateroom tv? I just don't want the hassle of stressing of running to a show early to get a seat or not reserving early enough and getting a bad seat.

 

Advise? How did you handle this?

 

We just were on the 3/14 sailing of the Oasis and were able to start booking shows ~6 months out maybe? Granted, a fair number of the shows were shuffled around and we had to rearrange the shows to fit our schedule (and toddler), but we had no difficulty being able to book online.

[north29]

It's a matter of personal preference. I cruise mostly in Europe, view the ship as a vehicle to get from port to port, and don't have much interest in the bells and whistles of large ships. Other people travel more for the ships than the ports, and the large ships offer extra amenities that they want. I say try it and judge for yourself.

 

Some people are(PURE) cruisers and some people are travelers using the ship to see places they have never seen. Many cruisers just like to be on a cruise ship to be on a relaxing trip.

[bobmacliberty]

What do you like most about cruising? Main pool deck? Adult solarium? Entertainment? Food? Bars? Shopping? Ports? Activities? Sitting on your balcony and watching the ocean go by? I've got lots of Allure pictures (way more than you really want to see :)). Let us know what you enjoy and we can give opinions (or show you pictures) of those particular things on Allure. You've already heard, and I agree, that the entertainment is amazing. We were able to book shows ahead of time but we did show up 30 minutes early to get prime seats even though we had reservations.

 

BTW, I don't remember seeing a single animated character while on Allure. We didn't look for them, and they didn't look for us. That was 4 years ago though.

[BekkaW]

Thank you! Question/Concern: Another factor I'm worried about is the crowds to see shows. I keep reading that you have to make reservations but RCL website won't allow you to do that ahead of time. I have to do it on the ship via stateroom tv? I just don't want the hassle of stressing of running to a show early to get a seat or not reserving early enough and getting a bad seat.

 

Advise? How did you handle this?

 

I think you have gotten confused with other ships. All of the main shows on Oasis class can be reserved online ahead of the cruise - broadway show, comedy, water/diving show, I think also the ice show.

 

You do not, however, reserve a particular seat - so cannot get a 'bad seat' based on when you reserve. You should attend the show location 1/2 hour before the show starts to get seated. About 15 minutes before the show starts they will allow guests without reservations to enter so its better to be all settled before then. This is particularly important for the comedy shows as its a very small venue.

[jndsilver31]

When DW and I sailed on the Allure last Sept. we were able to make show reservations about 4 months in advance of the cruise. You should make reservations because if you don't then you have to wait until about 15mins before the show begins to try to find a seat. You do need reservations for the Comedy Show.

 

But by all means give the ship a try.