Carnival or RCCL for anniversary cruise

[angiem0217]

I have priced 2 cruises for my upcoming anniversary. I have sailed on 7 carnival cruises and have never tried another line. I have enjoyed cruising with carnival but for our anniversary I am think of trying RCCL. I priced the allure of the seas in a Balcony going to Nassau, St Thomas and St marten for a price of $2386. I have also looked at carnival magic going to amber cove, Dominican Republic, st Thomas, San Juan and grand Turk. I like that itinerary better and it cheaper, Balcony is 2037. But I do like the idea of trying another line so I really don't know what to do. Opinions from anyone that has sailed both lines?

[nednrom]

Allure is a very unique ship, I find that the cabins and balconies are larger than what I've seen just recently seen on the Conquest. The shows you will see on the Allure are longer and much professional than Carnivals and it's more of a destination than the itinerary. If you haven't tried it, it may be worth it. However, it only does 7 day East/West Caribbean sailings with the same ports all winter.

 

We sailed the Allure twice and both times had great experiences. We are sailing with Carnival twice in a row now. There are positives and negatives to both cruise lines. We also enjoyed our NYE cruise on the Conquest a lot too. As long as I'm on a ship, I'm happy.

 

You're not going to see Guy's burgers or equivalent free venue on the Allure. However, there are other free venues that are just as good. There are chair hogs just like on any ship, the hottubs are full on sea days etc.. you'll have to decide. I would go with Magic since I've done allure itinerary quite a number of times and have been on it twice. I would recommend for everyone to try the Allure once though. It is an amazing ship.

Edited January 12, 2016 by nednrom

[angiem0217]

Yeah I really want to go on allure and RCCL since I have never sailed on RCCL. But I really like the itinerary on Magic. And I have never sailed on Magic and it's getting upgrades next month in dry dock. I just do not know what to do.

[cynt]

Cruise ship vs. Itinerary. I'm no help. LOL!!

 

I loved the Allure. The Oasis class of ship is hands down the most unique cruise ship out there. I'm a cruise ship person which is why I picked the Allure over the southern itinerary a couple of years ago and then Thanksgiving 2015 picked the Anthem over the southern itinerary on Carnival Breeze. I cruise for the ship and to get lots of R&R.

 

But that southern itinerary is on my bucket list. And hopefully I'll finally get to do it this fall.

[wantocruisemore]

I've done both lines and like them equally, although I think carnival has an edge on food. I really like their varied additional free food venues.

 

We normally look at both lines when ready to book and since they are so close, it comes down to price and itinerary.

[nednrom]

Yeah I really want to go on allure and RCCL since I have never sailed on RCCL. But I really like the itinerary on Magic. And I have never sailed on Magic and it's getting upgrades next month in dry dock. I just do not know what to do.

 

Haha -- Do both b2b :)

[singbluesilver1]

Id pick carnival the ports are better

[AngelaGGentile]

I have priced 2 cruises for my upcoming anniversary. I have sailed on 7 carnival cruises and have never tried another line. I have enjoyed cruising with carnival but for our anniversary I am think of trying RCCL. I priced the allure of the seas in a Balcony going to Nassau, St Thomas and St marten for a price of $2386. I have also looked at carnival magic going to amber cove, Dominican Republic, st Thomas, San Juan and grand Turk. I like that itinerary better and it cheaper, Balcony is 2037. But I do like the idea of trying another line so I really don't know what to do. Opinions from anyone that has sailed both lines?

Congrats on your upcoming anniversary @angiem0217! We have sailed three Carnival Cruises and this time around we are going with Royal Caribbean. Check out this itinerary - 9 nights sailing March 17 from Fort Lauderdale. You may be pleased. It sounds like an amazing ship - Oasis of the Seas. http://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruises/OA09E012 - Angela

[Tapi]

Carnival is great, but for a special occasion, I would definitely lean towards the Allure. We had an absolutely fantastic time on that cruise and its a one of a kind experience.

 

As others mentioned, it will all boil down to ship vs itinerary. On the Allure, the ship will be the destination. When we sailed on her, we did the Western Caribbean itinerary. Literally, we got off the ship for 1 hour in Jamaica, about 4 in Cozumel, and about another 4 in Labadee. So out of 7 days, we only spent 9 hour ashore!

 

But even though we spent the vast majority of our vacation aboard the ship, we didn't have enough time to do everything that the ship had to offer. Simply stated, there's too much to do. Halfway through the week we finally realized that we were killing ourselves trying to do it all, so we decided to pick the activities that we were most interested in and relax, promising ourselves that one day we would return.

 

Overall, our cruise on the Allure felt like a once in a lifetime kind of experience. In comparison, we sailed on the Carnival Dream a few month later, and while we had a great time, it felt like just another cruise.

Edited January 12, 2016 by Tapi

[angiem0217]

I wish I had enough vacation time to do a B2B

Edited January 12, 2016 by angiem0217

[angiem0217]

Congrats on your upcoming anniversary @angiem0217! We have sailed three Carnival Cruises and this time around we are going with Royal Caribbean. Check out this itinerary - 9 nights sailing March 17 from Fort Lauderdale. You may be pleased. It sounds like an amazing ship - Oasis of the Seas. http://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruises/OA09E012 - Angela

 

 

That itinerary sounds amazing

[angiem0217]

Carnival is great, but for a special occasion, I would definitely lean towards the Allure. We had an absolutely fantastic time on that cruise and its a one of a kind experience.

 

As others mentioned, it will all boil down to ship vs itinerary. On the Allure, the ship will be the destination. When we sailed on her, we did the Western Caribbean itinerary. Literally, we got off the ship for 1 hour in Jamaica, about 4 in Cozumel, and about another 4 in Labadee. So out of 7 days, we only spent 9 hour ashore!

 

But even though we spent the vast majority of our vacation aboard the ship, we didn't have enough time to do everything that the ship had to offer. Simply stated, there's too much to do. Halfway through the week we finally realized that we were killing ourselves trying to do it all, so we decided to pick the activities that we were most interested in and relax, promising ourselves that one day we would return.

 

Overall, our cruise on the Allure felt like a once in a lifetime kind of experience. In comparison, we sailed on the Carnival Dream a few month later, and while we had a great time, it felt like just another cruise.

 

 

We are on the Dream this March. Anniversary is in October. I am leaning towards the Allure.

[grandmarnnurse]

Congrats on your upcoming anniversary @angiem0217! We have sailed three Carnival Cruises and this time around we are going with Royal Caribbean. Check out this itinerary - 9 nights sailing March 17 from Fort Lauderdale. You may be pleased. It sounds like an amazing ship - Oasis of the Seas. http://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruises/OA09E012 - Angela

 

Oasis IS fabulous! I sailed her last year and LOVED her!! I have sailed on 7 Carnival ships and 2 RCCL. There are Pros and Cons to both. I actually thought the food in the Main Dining Room on Carnival was better, but there are so many free venues to try on the Oasis!

[WendyVF]

You really need to decide if you want this to be about the ship or the islands. You really can't compare the Allure to another ship and there's no reason to pay extra if you're not going to get to experience all the ship has to offer.

 

We were on RCCL in October and Carnival over NYE (we've done lots of both). While I like the ship layout on RCCL better, I like the comedy and food venues on Carnival. I felt service, food, pools, etc were about the same. I did love the drink package on RCCL, there was no limit and you could pretty much order what you want.

 

You may want to take a look at Princess. We did it for our 20th anniversary and found it to be cheaper than Carnival at the time. We found it to be very nice and elegant. It was a bit older of a crowd, which meant the ship got quiet a little earlier but we didn't have any problem getting a seat in the casino, a show or around the pool! We met some people our age and had a blast!

[S.S.Oceanlover]

You really need to decide if you want this to be about the ship or the islands. You really can't compare the Allure to another ship and there's no reason to pay extra if you're not going to get to experience all the ship has to offer.

 

We were on RCCL in October and Carnival over NYE (we've done lots of both). While I like the ship layout on RCCL better, I like the comedy and food venues on Carnival. I felt service, food, pools, etc were about the same. I did love the drink package on RCCL, there was no limit and you could pretty much order what you want.

 

You may want to take a look at Princess. We did it for our 20th anniversary and found it to be cheaper than Carnival at the time. We found it to be very nice and elegant. It was a bit older of a crowd, which meant the ship got quiet a little earlier but we didn't have any problem getting a seat in the casino, a show or around the pool! We met some people our age and had a blast!

 

Oasis/Allure have about 6 pools. I would say the pool experience is not the same between the Oasis class and the CCL Magic, but that's just my opinion.:)

 

Bill

 

Bill

[Jenhem31]

Allure, Allure, Allure. While the Magic itinerary is great, nothing in the world compares to Allure. We sailed that same itinerary and while we hate Nassau, it was still amazing. That ship is one of a kind. I'd recommend it if you really want that wow factor. It's really beautiful.

[angiem0217]

Yes it looks like a great ship

[RoperDK]

We cruised Oasis a couple of months ago. It was amazing! We enjoyed everything about it. I do wish they would change the itineraries up a bit. Same old Eastern and Western ports. We liked it so much that we booked it again for next year. We are going on the Sunshine next month. It will be our 20th Carnival cruise, so we obviously like Carnival. We usually book for itinerary, but the Oasis was a truly unique experience.

 

Dawn

[angiem0217]

I booked Allure today! Woo hoo I am so excited

[CJHAN]

I have priced 2 cruises for my upcoming anniversary. I have sailed on 7 carnival cruises and have never tried another line. I have enjoyed cruising with carnival but for our anniversary I am think of trying RCCL. I priced the allure of the seas in a Balcony going to Nassau, St Thomas and St marten for a price of $2386. I have also looked at carnival magic going to amber cove, Dominican Republic, st Thomas, San Juan and grand Turk. I like that itinerary better and it cheaper, Balcony is 2037. But I do like the idea of trying another line so I really don't know what to do. Opinions from anyone that has sailed both lines?

 

I have never sailed RCCL but given the chance with only a 300 diffrence i would sail an oasis class ship without question no matter the where it was going as along as it wasnt like a 4 day vs a 7 day cruise.