Trying to decide between two cruises

[Mikä1539185720]

So my wife and I are booking a cruise for this December. We want to drive to the port to save some money, so our choices are Cape Liberty and Baltimore. We're looking at the 7 day on the Allure or the 8 day on the Carnival Pride. Both cruises are about the same price for a balcony and have roughly the same stops. The Pride has one more but it's in South Carolina and we're not really interested in seeing it.

 

We've never been on a ship the size of the Allure and are leaning towards that one. A big thing for us is the food. We're both vegetarians and sometimes the options on cruises can be slim. If anyone out there has been on both ships, we would love to hear your feedback. Thanks!!

[Aquahound]

Are you sure it's Allure, or is it Anthem you're considering? :confused:

 

Either way, I would highly recommend either of those ships over the much older Carnival Pride. The newer RCI ships are amazing.

[cb at sea]

I agree, if the price is the same, then RCI is the way to go. BUT...you need to be sure you're pricing an Ocean View balcony...and not a Boardwalk or Central Park balcony, to compare "apples to apples"!

 

Pride's standard balcony cabins are 185 sq. ft., where Allure's standard OV balcony is 162 sq. ft.... but Anthem has balcony cabins that are a bit larger than Prides....

[Mikä1539185720]

I agree, if the price is the same, then RCI is the way to go. BUT...you need to be sure you're pricing an Ocean View balcony...and not a Boardwalk or Central Park balcony, to compare "apples to apples"!

 

Pride's standard balcony cabins are 185 sq. ft., where Allure's standard OV balcony is 162 sq. ft.... but Anthem has balcony cabins that are a bit larger than Prides....

 

It's definitely an ocean view on the Allure. The only thing that had us thinking about the Pride was that we would be on the ship over christmas. But, the food and activities on the ship is more important than that.

[Aquahound]

It's definitely an ocean view on the Allure.

 

The reason I was asking if you were sure about Allure was, Allure sails out of Fort Lauderdale. You said your choices were limited to Cape Liberty and Baltimore.

[taglovestocruise]

We have been on both and there is no comparison, Allure is hands down a totally different experience. But as others have said Allure is out of fll. and Anthem is on the east coast. If the price is similar on Allure for a neighborhood balcony to that of ocean view go with the boardwalk rear cabins and you will still be able to see the ocean as well as the water show... If your talking about Anthem then it is still far better then the Pride happy cruising

[mamasylvia]

If you did really mean the Allure, I cruised on the Oasis (same class) and the picking for vegetarians were fairly slim. Nearly all dishes in the MDR were meat dishes, the soups were at least 75% meat-based. There were some delicious vegetable side dishes, wish I could remember some of them. If you eat cheese, there were occasional cheese-based main dishes, and of course salads make-your-own sandwiches were always available at the buffet. There was a pizza place (included) where you could probably manage a vegetarian pizza, and some of the tapas at one of the bars (premium) were meat-free. (I am not a vegetarian, but I'm not a meat-and-potatoes woman either. I am perfectly happy with a meat-free entree if it is tasty and well-prepared.)

 

OTOH, when you do find a dish that you like, it's easy enough to ask for a second and keep it in your room fridge for the next meal that they don't have a good option and you don't feel like a sandwich or salad. I took along some disposables in my luggage and they were quite handy.

[bigsky]

Been on both. Actually went on the Pride twice. Once we hit the Oasis class, I don't think we'll go back to anything "less". No comparison IMO. You will love the Allure! I'd rather spend one less day on her than an extra day on the Pride.

[Mikä1539185720]

The reason I was asking if you were sure about Allure was, Allure sails out of Fort Lauderdale. You said your choices were limited to Cape Liberty and Baltimore.

 

It's the anthem, I was reading something about the allure and for some reason it was stuck in my head.

[taglovestocruise]

I saw you were leaning towards Allure because of it's size. Based on that you should give Anthem a try, although it is much smaller than Allure it is still more than double the size of Pride and 17 years newer. check out both ships on youtube.. happy cruising

[geoherb]

I'd go on Royal Caribbean over Carnival. I think the food, entertainment, and general overall ambience are all nicer.

 

As to vegetarian, have you tried asking to order the night before? You'll have a lot more options than being limited to whatever vegetarian options are available on the regular menu.

[Mikä1539185720]

We booked the Anthem last night. I looked over the menus for both ships and the Anthem had far more and better sounding vegetarian options on the menus. The price on the cruise was awesome too! We ended up only paying $620 per person for a balcony room.

[Aquahound]

We booked the Anthem last night. I looked over the menus for both ships and the Anthem had far more and better sounding vegetarian options on the menus. The price on the cruise was awesome too! We ended up only paying $620 per person for a balcony room.

 

You made the right choice. Enjoy your cruise. :)